Family Types: Year 1
by LastCornerStone
Summary: At age 7, Harry was rescued from his abusive uncle by Sirius Black who then returned to Regulus, Narcissa, Remus, Draco and Dante. With a bum eye, an irrational fear of muggles, and a license to fight, follow Harry through his years. Year 2 in progress.
1. Prolouge: Rescue?

Family Types

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. If I did 1) Sirius would have never met such an end 2) The books wouldn't have ended in such an unsatisfactory way and 3) Remus and Sirius would have exchanged more than just a hug upon seeing each other for the first time in years during the shrieking shack scene.

Prologue: Rescue?

Young Harry Potter looked around at his new surroundings. This was defiantly not somewhere he had been before. There were pictures of fat beach balls with blonde wigs on, dressed in the oddest sort of robes he'd ever seen. He had seen his dad wear clothes like them but never so frilly or colorful. His mum had worn the lacy stuffed before but had stopped when Harry had refused to be picked up by her whenever she was in them.

His head spun in the opposite direction and spotted a big man with a full mustache and stubby hands coming toward him. He looked Harry over and the baby smiled, knowing the man would pick him up and coo over him like everyone else. But this time the man reeled back like Wormy always did when Cleo, his mum's cat, walked into the room.

Harry's smile dropped and he whimpered when the man slapped his check shaking a finger at him as he ranted. Harry cowered back in his seat. This was not right. He wasn't supposed to hit, so why was the man hitting him?

From outside the window, Sirius Black watched the seen disgusted. As much as he wanted to rush in there and beat the muggle to a bloody pulp, Harry had to stay there till he finished his mission. He'd come back for Harry as soon as he found the rat. Then he'd take Harry to live with his sister, who was hiding from the rage of her husband with her small child at the safe house. His brother was watching out for his son and Remus was waiting to hunt down the rat with him. But if something were to go wrong, Dante would need a father. Sirius would leave without his mate and bring him back the rat's tail as souvenir.

With that, Sirius Black pulled his long hair back and made an unbreakable vow to the small boy that he would be there to protect him, that he would come back, that he would train him and teach him all about his parents. He smiled at the small boy as he caught sight of Sirius and giggled happily; reach his arms out to be picked up by his Godfather.

"Not this time cub." Sirius whispered sadly. He fled the tree leaving behind only a few tears and a small stage doll as proof he was really there.


	2. Chapter 1: The Real Thing

CHAPTER 1: The Real Thing

Seven-year-old Harry Potter awoke with a start as his dream finished to see that he had been crying during it. He brushed the tears from his face ashamedly. Sitting up he found a pair of socks, de-spidered them and left his cupboard under the stairs. He had finished cooking and setting the table in time to rush out the back door with his pilfered apple when his uncle came in the room. They had a strict 'Seen-but-not-Heard' policy; meaning Harry was not to be seen but not to be heard ether.

Stretching his legs and arms Harry made his way to the street. Flexing his bandaged hands, Harry crossed, weary of cars, and jogged his way to the stores. Monitoring his breathing, Harry took off into the wind that whipped his face at his fast jog. Smiling to himself, he freed his mind and body to the physical exertion.

He ran three and a half miles to the store and pulled money, money he'd saved up from the odd jobs he'd done around town, from his shoe and calming his breath made his way to the bookstore. A small backpack thumped heavily on his back as he walked up and down the aisles looking for new books.

He came across the section of books he'd been buying before that day and looked at the small wad of cash he had clutched in his small hands. Picking up an advanced version of the hand-to-hand combat book he had been studying he made his way to the langue books and got the final copy of the world langue books he'd been studying. He did some quick math and made his way to the back. Here where his favorite books, the weaponry books. He took one of the shelves and made his way to the front to pay for them, leavening him with just enough money to buy a muffin from the adjoining coffee shop.

He packed everything into the backpack and jogged off into the distance unaware of the large bear-like black dog watching him from behind the trashcan he'd been pretending to rut through only moments ago.

It followed Harry to the park another three miles back from the house they'd just left, and into the woods that stood on the edge of the public playground. He watched as Harry uncovered the hiding place within the center of the trees that no one would have found without being shown. The hollow of the old tree was large enough when uncovered to fit a small boy and it was into this that Harry looked. He patted the head of a vicious looking garden snake and gave it a bit of bacon from his pocket, which the snake gobbled gratefully before settling down to watch the boy.

He pulled out assortments of thick books on a manner of subjects. There were complex math books and books in a different langue, books on fighting both hand-to-hand and with a weapon. There were photos and drawings tucked lovingly between the pages and even some letters they boy had written to his missing family and simply pretended he'd forgotten to mail them. Even at that moment he was looking at one and sighed.

"In all the excitement of getting new books I forgot to by stamps again. Sorry Padfoot old friend. Looks like I'll have to send this later."

The small child replaced the letter within the folds of the book and continued to look through the stash. At the bottom of the pile Harry pulled a very familiar stag doll from the tree. He smiled at it sadly and sat down with it.

The big dog continued to watch him late into the morning as he read his books or made notes with the stub of a pencil he'd grabbed up at school. Eventually the boy had to leave. He picked up an old photo and whispered a heartfelt good bye to the occupants of the picture before adding it to the growing pile of mementos within the old tree's trunk.

As soon as the boy left the dog came out of the bushes changing briefly into a man. He knocked the snake away with a sweep of his hand so as to collect the books and papers and pictures into a bag, shrink it with a small wave of his hand and pocketed it before changing back into a dog an followed Harry three miles back to the store then back once again to the house, pointlessly running the extra distance around the large playground closer to his uncle's house. The kid liked to run, as if he was constantly running from something, and never getting anywhere.

Harry had returned to the house just before his uncle's business party. He finished cooking the dinner in time for his uncle to give him a painful shove into his cupboard as he answered the door, in a tux looking presentable for anyone's standards.

That night seemed to drag on forever. Noise filled the downstairs making it hard for Harry to sleep and at one point his door had been rattled so violently Harry had been scared it would be forced off it's hinges.

When the party finally drew to a close, his uncle appeared drunk in the doorway of his closet muttering in his drunken gibberish as he hauled Harry into the air with one massive fist. He took a broken bottle up with his unoccupied hand and brought it scrapping down Harry's head, gorging out his eye.

Harry screams could be heard miles away, but it was the uncle's that where heard round the world.

When Sirius Black had finished with the oversized whale of a man, he was hardly recognizable. The enraged Godfather took up the bloody kid and disapperated, not caring he'd set off the wards he'd tip-toed around for so many days, not caring he'd have a tracer on him instantly, not caring that he couldn't change into a dog. All he could care about was getting Harry to his sister and his mate. If anyone could fix him, it'd be a healer and someone who'd been healed for the most grotesque self-inflicted injuries imaginable.

He ran up the slopping drive, barely stopping for the wards to recognize him. He flew through the familiar cottage and past the house elf, ignoring the wands trained on him by two adult wizards, a witch, and two young wizards not even in Hogwarts yet.

"Rem…Cissy…help! Harry!" The werewolf took the boy from his husband's arms faster than he recognized his long-lost mate.

Narcissa followed Remus into the kitchen, the door slamming shut behind her with a slam.

"Reg…"Sirius croaked.

"It's okay big brother. You're home." Regulus Black took his fugitive brother into his arms and rocked the elder man back and forth as he cried for the first time in six years.

Down on the floor, little Draco Malfoy and Dante Lupin-Black looked up understanding that their family was finally coming together, just in time for war.


	3. Chapter 2: 4 Years Later

CHAPTER 2: 4 Years Later

"HARRY JAMES POTTER! YOU ARE GOING TO PAY WITH YOUR LIFE!"

Harry snickered to himself and blended back into the shadows. He watched as a tall blonde haired teen wheeled around the corner and shot straight past his hiding place. Draco Malfoy rocketed through the house looking for the elusive birthday boy. A slightly shorter boy followed at a more leisurely pace, his long sandy brown hair pulled back in a ponytail. His blue eyes shown with mirth as he watched the blond chase shadows.

"Give it up Draco. You know you won't find Harry till he's ready for you too." He laughed with a deep voice that rang with the mirth that showed through the bright eyes, his slight fangs exposed in his wide smile.

"Doesn't mean I can't look for the pest." Draco ragged as he started patting down the walls. "What did he do to you this time anyway?" Dante laughed. "It doesn't matter. Why aren't you pissed, Dante? He got you too, didn't he?" Draco accused. "Yes, he got me. Changed all my robes and underwear bright pink but if you ask me, he's running out of ideas."

"HEY!" Harry cried indignantly, stepping out from the shadows. "I was letting you off easy!" He cried. "It was for good behavior, and the fact you said you were getting me a broom for my birthday." Draco laughed. "And you believed him?" "Dante doesn't lie to me unlike someone." Harry shot back playfully. "Look up gullible and there will be your name Harry Potter."

"Gullible isn't in the dictionary, Draco." Harry teased. "Yes it is!" Draco shot back. He summoned the dictionary with a flick of his wrist and turned to the 'g's. Handwritten in next to gullible was Draco's name beside it and a 'XP' smile face next to it.

"WHY YOU!" Draco dropped the book and launched at Harry knocking his legs out from under him. Harry retaliated as soon as he jumped out of his roll away from Draco, with a kick at the younger boy's legs. Harry jumped and blocked the punch aimed at his right cheek, recalculating his position. Soon a full out brawl was in place.

Dante watched from the sidelines, obviously board. He yawned then looked at the two fighting boys, tripped them both and was brought into the battle. They made their way treacherously down the stairs and into the kitchen, each boy defending himself before launching their own attack.

"Morning boys." Regulus called over his copy of The Daily Prophet. All three stopped instantly bowed and said "Good morning Uncle Regulus" in unison before returning to their brawl. The made their way through the kitchen and into the den where Remus and Sirius where lounging on the couch.

"BOYS!" Remus cried stopping the scrap instantaneously. "What have we taught you?" He asked in a singsong voice. "Right." They cried, each hiking their arms up a bit more, spreading their feet out a bit wider before continuing. "Happy birthday Harry!" Sirius cried as they made their way into the battle rooms. "Thanks!" Could be heard before a loud crash and clang as the boys ripped weapons off racks and faced each other.

"Well they'll be busy for most of the morning." Narcissa hummed coming into the den with Regulus, wiping her hands on a towel, dusting flower from her apron.

"Should we get ready then?" Remus asked.

"Best if we did. We don't want them walking in on us." Narcissa answered.

A ringing of battle-axes on a shield and the resounding clang of sword quickly following it greeted their ears with shattering volume.

"I think we have time." Regulus laughed.

The other joined them and all four adults left for the kitchen laughing as the sounds of furious battle seeped through the walls.

VWVWVWVWVWVWVWVWVWVWVWVWVWVWVWVWVWVWVWVWVWV

Harry raised the battle-axes for a final blow but fell over onto his back, causing Draco to laugh through his thick panting. Dante just pointed from his position belly down on the stone floor wheezing in an air attempt at a laugh, black wife-beater soaked through with sweat. Draco rang out his own white wife-beater and watched with a mix of satisfaction and disgust as a puddle of sweat dripped onto the floor. Harry laughed shortly as he regained his breath.

They had been at it for over four hours when the boys finally gave in. No one had landed a winning jab at the other, proving yet again they were on the same level with weapons, though their hand-to-hand was slightly tipped in Harry's favor, just as potion fell to Draco and tactic was Dante's major.

They sat panting on the floor for twenty minutes before stretching out and showering. When the left the adjoining changing rooms, the battle room had cleansed itself, replacing the weapons on the shelf and draining the pools of sweat from the floor.

Harry smiled as he pulled on his dark green t-shit sporting the phrase "I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it" which had been a gift from Dante the year before as a joke when Harry started laugh for no reason.

Dante himself was sporting a blue shirt reading "I have multiple personalities and none of us like you" which Draco had given him for his birthday on April 1st as a joke/birthday present, teasing him about being a werewolf.

Draco was the only one without a message on his shirt, because it was still plastered across his forehead from Harry's birthday prank. "I love my boyfriend" flashed in rainbow colors from underneath his blond bangs, irritating the teen to no end.

They entered the den to find a note from Narcissa telling them to come around back. The shrugged at one another and made their way out. The backyard was decked out in streamers and balloons with a large banner readying "HAPPY BIRTHDAY HARRY!" in bright gold letters over a table laden with so much food Harry was sure it was being held up by magic.

"Happy birthday Cub!"

Harry spun around to see Sirius, Regulus, Remus, and Narcissa coming out from the gazebo where a table had been set up with plates and cups with pitchers of pumpkin juice and a large 3-D Quidditch stadium cake with moving figurines of all three boys as well as the four adults.

"Wow, guys! This is amazing!" Harry cried running over to the cake. He reached in and pulled out Draco's figure before biting off its head. He smiled at Draco's scandalized look before the blond rushed over and took up Harry's biting off the raven-haired teen's model's head.

Sirius and Remus laughed as Narcissa conjured up two more figurines of each boy and replaced them in the game before motioning for everyone to gather around so she could get a picture of them with the cake, Draco and Harry still munching on each other's character.

The party was well underway, everyone laughing and joking and recounting old stories while eating all the while when the doorbell rang. This was cause for alarm. Not only did they live in the middle of nowhere, there were repelling charms and other spells protecting them from being seen by anyone or anything.

Sirius changed into a dog, Regulus, Draco and Narcissa hid, Harry morphed into a replica of Dante with black hair and the two followed Remus to the door.

Standing outside was none other than Arabella Figg. Remus smiled and motioned for everyone to come out. The crazy old cat lady Harry once knew was in reality, a young blond Slytherian friend of his parents and Regulus's fiancé.

"Happy Birthday Harry!" She cried picking up the still black haired Dante twin, knowing it was him, as he always used that disguise.

"Thanks Aunt Bella." Harry laughed as she swung him around. She gave him a decoratively wrapped present and turned to Remus. "Sorry for the scare. I managed to get out from under Dumbeldore's thumb sooner than I expected."

"It's just good to see you Bella." Remus smiled hugging her tightly. "And you too Evangeline." He knelt down to the ten-year-old girl who clutched at her mother's skirts. She had long blond hair like her mothers but had he fathers charcoal eyes instead of her mother's chocolate brown ones.

"Bella!" Regulus cried running toward his wife, hugging her tightly with a passionate kiss that drove the three young boys into the garden with disgusted looks on their faces. He knelt down and picked up his daughter, swinging her around in the air, to her delighted giggles.

"You're just in time for cake and presents." Sirius laughed as he changed back and hugged Bella after Narcissa who had moved on to Evangeline. The two had been closest, other than Bella and Lily. All three girls had formed a close friendship, akin to the Marauders.

"Oh, good, my favorite part." She laughed taking Regulus by the hand and running into the garden sitting them down at Harry's feet as he moved his stack of presents closer to himself. Sirius laughed and hugged Remus to him. Narcissa took up her trusty camera in one hand and Evangeline in the other and Harry groaned.

"Aunt Cissy! No more pictures please?" Harry pleaded with his photo-obsessed aunt.

"Not a chance Harry. It's not everyday a young man turns 11." She laughed snapping another shot. Evangeline laughed and Harry stuck out his tongue at her. "One would think that you'd be turning 5 not 11 wit the way you act, Mr. Potter." She teased. "One would think you'd be turning 6 instead of 10 with your height Eva." Harry shot back. Evangeline stuck out her tongue saying "It's okay for me cause I'm a cute, little, innocent, girl."

Harry shook his head and took up his first present while Sirius started serving cake.

As Harry ripped through his presents Regulus left Bella's side to get a drink only to find Bella following him, leaving Evangeline to banter with her favorite plaything, who was trying not to turn his birthday gift, most of which were weapons, on her.

"You're not going to tell him before he leaves for Hogwarts are you?" She asked, her hyper attitude suddenly gone. Her voice was as beautiful as when she was perky but the serious tone didn't fit her. It was like an adult was speaking out of the voice of a child, like the way Harry sometimes talked.

"No, he doesn't need to know why we're training him just yet. He's got enough on his plate." Regulus replied as watched his surrogate Godson pull his bangs back close to his bad eye.

He was more ashamed of that eye, more annoyed by it then he was of the Boy-Who-Lived lightning bolt on his forehead. But who could blame him? The lowest form of life had done that to him, and while the eye had been replaced, giving him added advantages, such as seeing through spells, and pulling up ward grids with a blink, etc., the scar would haunt him forever reminding him of that man.

"To this day, no matter what any of us do, Harry is still scared of muggles. He has never once ventured into muggle London and even has a hard time being in Digaon Alley without throwing up a shield three feet in diameter. It has taken almost a year and a half for Harry to relax around us and I'm under the impression it was only the child's photographic memories that showed him what we were like in his past that helped him accept us so quickly.

"The boy has enough to deal with without knowing about the horcruxes. He would have to face them soon enough, so why worry about them at the moment, when there where so many other evils to overcome?"

Regulus turned back to the boy who was tarring the rapping paper of a new set of twin blade swords with emerald stones set in their handles to help enhance his Parsamagic, once he learned it. He smiled as Harry fawned over them as if they were a new broom. "Besides, we've corrupted him enough for now." He smiled. Bella smiled and took Regulus' hand.

"You're going to make a great father to a second child, one you'll actually be able to raise." She whispered. "Not till we're married." He muttered back. She pouted and dropped his hand before stalking back to Evangeline and taking her to eat, unnoticed by Harry, who had just unwrapped a glock with heat seeking bullets, as the center of all the boys attentions. As three boys fawned over the gun, the other weapons laying forgotten in the grass for the moment, Regulus shook his head. "What have we done?" He muttered munching on Sirius's figurine player.


	4. Chapter 3: Diagon Alley Dreads

CHAPTER 3: Diagon Alley Dreads

Harry, Dante and Draco where sleeping in the next morning. They had stayed up till one fighting with Harry's new toys and had exhausted themselves, resulting in Remus, Regulus and Sirius straining their backs while carrying the teens up to their room, or so they said as they gave the kids their list of chores that morning after the three teens complained that they were double in length.

"Aren't Cissy and Bella going to help us?" Dante asked his fathers. Remus and Sirius shook their heads. "They went out shopping with Evangeline. Now if you want to go to Diagon Alley tomorrow, you best get all that done." This wasn't the best encouragement for Harry, as he loathed leaving the house, it was his sanctuary outside of which all the evils of the world waited to reek havoc on his life, but Dante and Draco where so excited by the idea they did what Harry put off.

They had gotten their Hogwarts letters at breakfast that morning and Harry had known that a Diagon Alley trip would be in store but it didn't mean he had to like it. He liked his home. He liked curling up with Dante, Draco, Sirius and Remus and watching a movie with Bella and Eva making commentary on the unlikely hood of something really happening to which the males would respond with "You're a witch and you can't believe a car could turn into an airplane when you could change it into a pig?"

He liked how Regulus and Narcissa made dinner, purposefully wafting the undeniably appetizing aromas into the den, till the attention of the five was split between what was going to happen next and food.

He didn't want things to change, and muggles always changed things.

But Harry but on a brave "hero" face and bit his lip till it bleed, and forced himself through Diagon Alley with the others, concentrating on not throwing up his shield. He hated the way the muggles looked at them as he, Draco, Dante and Sirius thundered through the muggle streets on motorcycles. He hated the way the looked at him with pity or disgust when his bangs slipped away from his damaged eye. It was still green like the other, an exact replica in fact, but the long scar that reached down from his eyebrow, over his eye lid and ending at the top of his cheek, made it look so different along with the odd sparkle that appeared when he used it. He often kept it covered with a bandana or eye patch, but such thing got annoying quickly.

He put his helmet on his bike as he followed Sirius into The Leakey Cauldron. All of them were in disguise of coarse, Draco because he was hiding from his father, Harry because he was Harry, Sirius for obvious reasons and Dante because he felt left out. They had taken on the appearance of 18 year olds so they could drive their motorcycles through the muggle streets and not get pulled over. Harry's hair was long and red, Draco's short and black, Sirius' blond and shaggy, Dante's purple and spiked. Everything else stayed the same with the acceptance of height. It was surprising how simple it was to confuse people.

They waved to Tom as they walked through attracting many female eyes. Sirius tapped out the bricks with Regulus' wand, which he'd "borrowed" to take them that day. Once in Diagon Alley, they speed off in different directions. Dante to get books, Draco to get potions, Harry to get trunks, Sirius to get money. Remus had an account that the stores could charge but they planned to make a few purchases that they didn't want the ministry to trace back to them. Of coarse all seven vaults fed into Remus' so it would be difficult to trace the purchases anyway, but they wanted to be safe.

They met back up outside of Madam Malkin's. Shifting into their 11-year-old sizes they walked in and got fitted quickly. They got school robes, everyday robes, and battle robes made from dragon scales, one of many purchases they didn't want traced back to a werewolf, the boy who lived, a fugitive, a dead man, or a Death Eater's wife.

They placed everything into the three compartment trunks Harry had gotten them, each with distinguishing colors and initials printed on the top. After much discussion that morning Dante had gone with D.L so when Draco's mother's divorce of his father was complete, both trunks wouldn't read D.B.

They went for wands next, but were side tracked along the way by the Quidditch store and a rather menacing looking Armory shop. In the end, Sirius promised he buy his kids brooms if they got on the Quidditch team and got them each a set of small knives and amulets that could be easily hidden on their person without attacking attention. As a last thought he'd gotten them strong leather boots with a space to hold a knives at easy access.

Leaving the stores more than content, the three boys where easily swayed into the wand shop, despite the wandless abilities they'd shown since birth. They resented wands, as they restricted magic but they were necessary for appearance. They walked in and turned their collective head up to the far corner where Ollivander was hiding, ready to creep-out his next customers.

"It seems I have been foiled." He chuckled. The children looked at each other and shrugged before await instruction. Then the Great Wand Pilling of 1991 began. Wand boxes stacked up as the wands lay discarded as failed attempts on the table. Finally all three boys found their wands. They shot of sparks into the air one after the other, Draco's green, Harry's gold, Dante's red. They smiled at each other and barely listened as Ollivander explained why Harry's wand was special.

They sauntered from the wand shop, Harry happy enough that he'd forgotten about the floods of muggles around him. Sirius led them to their final stop outside the menagerie and told them each to pick out a pet, but only to get one owl.

Inside, Harry and Draco went to the back while Dante picked out a snowy white owl from the front and handed her to Sirius pronouncing her Hedwig with a confident manner. Draco looked over the snakes as Harry eyed a kitten, who looked back at him with the same interest.

Hello Prodigy. It came out as a soft mew, but Harry understood the black, amber splotched cat like it was speaking English.

Hello He answered politely.

You seem to be in good health. The creature purred rubbing up against the bars.

Yes, I'm fine. Um…do you often talk to people?

Just my masters.

You've had many masters then?

Yes, I am an Immortal. I pass through the years serving generations of great wizards. You are my next assignment.

What am I to call you?

I have been called many things. He smiled teasingly. After all a name is but a mortal's assessment of something. For instance I call you Prodigy for that's what I see.

Harry growled a bit at the name.

Vexation. He hissed.

The cat laughed.

That is a new one I must admit. I like it Prodigy. Well come along now, bring me down. He pawed at the bars and mewed pathetically.

Harry reached up and took down the cage. Vexation nudged at his fingers through the bars and Harry petted the small kitten.

He took the kitten to Sirius who was debating over the length of a snake with Draco.

"Remus will flip if I let you get a 15 foot python!" Sirius fired at the irritated blond.

"Get him." Harry said suddenly. "He can help you learn Parsaltongue, and teach you magic and defense and stealth." Harry said pointing at a black and silver snake, long enough to be draped over the neck and fall evenly at the waist.

"How do you know that?" Sirius asked.

"He told me." Harry stated simply.

They didn't question Harry, he often had random moments where he thought he could understand creatures but some times, like when he clamed he could understand the thestral that had stumbled through their wards, turned out for the worst.

Draco seemed to hold a silent conversation with the snake then picked it up. "I like her." He exclaimed. "She's sarcastic."

"What do you have Harry?" Sirius asked. Harry presented the kitten for inspection.

"Ah a Kneezel mix. Good choice, and the name?"

"Vexation." Harry muttered to be met with laughs. "Such faith in your pets." Dante laughed. "Draco?"

"Sage." He answered instantly.

Sirius paid and they left. They had lunch in The Leakey Cauldron, where Harry spent more time avoiding eyes than he did eating. They headed home with their purchases and soon all three were curled up on the couch watching movies with their guardians. Bella had decided to stay with Regulus for a bit, that way he could spend time with his daughter and so they could both talking about wedding plans, as Bella wasn't about to let them go another year without one, even if it wasn't recognized by the Ministy.

Harry listened only partially there. He was thinking about Hogwarts and everything that would be changing now that they were leaving. He wondered what people would be like after he was presumed dead for so long then suddenly turning up at school. And what about Draco? The boy and his mother were in hiding from the Slytharins, so what would happen when he joined them, as he was bound to do.

Like all things enjoyed, the weeks leading up to their leave flew by and all too soon it was the night before they left.

Harry, Dante and Draco had finished training in the battle room and showered before coming out tussle-haired and damp. They sat down with their respective adult, Draco with his mother, Dante with his fathers, and Harry between Sirius and Regulus, unsure of where he belonged. Bella sat on Regulus' other side and Evangeline sat in his arms.

"Well, tomorrows the big day." Remus said stretching out as he leaned into Sirius, Dante leaning into him. He kissed his pup on the head and smiled when the youth ruffled his hair in response.

"You okay Harry?" Regulus asked as he noticed Harry's head drop. He shifted Evangeline in his lap so he could get a better look at the youth.

"Fine." Harry answered automatically.

Draco and Dante hit themselves in the foreheads with the heels of their hands.

Fine meant, "horribly mangled" under their roof. The programmed answer of Fine had stuck with Harry along with memories of Number 4 and it was when this word left his lips that he did himself in.

"What's wrong?" Bella asked leaning over Regulus.

"I'm fine!"

Harry got a look in response.

"Fine, I don't want to leave. I'm finally at home!"

"Awwwwww!"

Harry glared at Draco and Narcissa.

"You'll be fine Harry, you can come home for Christmas and well send owls with Hedwig. Your "brother" will be there." Remus assured referring to Dante. Draco raised and eyebrow and Remus added, "As well as your best mate slash brother." Harry smiled.

"See! Better already." Narcissa added as the two boys smiled at each other.

"Besides, we need you three to uphold the Marauder tradition." Sirius added to the groans of Slytharin family members. Eva smiled evilly and rubbed her hands together, not fully escaping the notice of the adults around her.

Harry laughed to himself and to face Draco with a smile. Draco smiled right back. They may fight for unimportant reasons, but they weren't enemies nor where they morons, they knew there was more than friendship between them, but they didn't know what it was. Maybe brotherhood would suffice as a name for it.


	5. Chapter 4: Leaving One Home for Another

CHAPTER 4: Leaving One Home for Another

"GET UP LAZY!"

Harry grunted and rolled over with a small cough.

"Harry?"

Whoever had been bouncing on his bed had gotten off and was shaking him.

"Harry!" He whined.

Harry knew that whine.

"Not now, Draco. Tired." He groaned with another cough and a small sigh.

"Harry we're going to miss the train!"

"Too bad, so sad." Harry hummed taking a tighter hold of the blankets, knowing they'd be the next things to go. Sure enough, Draco yanked them off and pulled Harry out of the bed with them.

"Hey!" Harry cried rubbing his head.

"Come on. Get dressed and come down for breakfast." Draco threw him some clothes and left.

Yawning Harry got up and followed Draco downstairs after changing and taking care of the necessary grooming.

"Morning Harry." Remus called as the teen appeared.

"Morning Uncle Remus."

He took a set between Sirius and Draco so that he was facing Dante and Bella.

"Where's Uncle Regulus?" Harry asked looking around. The kitchen seemed to freeze and all three teens rounded their attention to Bella. Evangeline looked up at her mother as well, obviously just noticing in her sleepy haze that he father wasn't around.

"Uh, well your Uncle isn't feeling too good." She covered. "He said to tell you good bye and that he'd write you later."

Harry, Draco, and Dante nodded, too tired to notice the un-truth in this. They could spot a flat out lie but an un-truth was much harder to spot, especially by experienced tellers like their Aunt Bella.

The teens where going to Kings Cross on their own as the rest couldn't come, so after breakfast they said their heartfelt goodbyes and hopped on their motorcycles.

Bella smiled sadly. "We're lucky it's early." She muttered. Sirius and Remus nodded gravely beside her. Bella dropped Eva in her room to work on her math books and followed Sirius, Remus and Narcissa up the two flights of stairs to Regulus' room and found the man still out cold, his hand ridged and unmoving, still clutched around a small ring.

VWVWVWVWVWVWVWVWVWVWVWVWVWVWVWVWVWVWVWVWVWV

Harry, Draco and Dante thundered along the streets, weaving in and out of cars. They stayed in the semblance of a line but let themselves wander out a bit. Their trunks were latched on safely behind them with their familiars where stored in the spacious three room trunks.

Harry pulled into Kings Cross first, parked and took off his helmet, brushing his bangs down over his bad eye. He turned to Dante who had pulled up next to him and Draco who was parking next to Dante. With a quick glance around all three shrank their bikes and pocketed them. They walked inconspicuously into the station, their trunks on carts, rucksacks on backs and helmets in hand.

The three teens passed through the gates to the main platforms in a uniformed line. They had long leather trench coats on, protecting them against the sudden chill that had set in. They tramped across the station, drawing eyes from all over the platforms. Dante had returned his purple spikes, saying he enjoyed the way they matched his fangs to give him a punk look and that he'd change it back after the feast.

Harry led the way to platforms 9 and 10. Just as they were walking in, a family of red heads cut them off. Dante only managed to grab Harry with his wolf reflexes, in time to stop them from crashing.

"Oh!" The plump women leading them cried. "I do apologize." She yanked one of her children back into line. "It's hard to watch everyone else when I'm focused on keeping these four in line." She apologized.

"Not a problem ma'am." Draco replied as Harry bowed low. They swerved around her waving good bye before disappearing uniformly through the barrier.

They picked out a compartment near the rear of the car so as to minimize the chances of being bothered. They opened their trunks and let their pets out. Vexation shook himself and began licking himself in a frenzy.

Never again! He hissed.

From now on, I ride on your shoulder. Harry laughed and nodded at his familiar, stroking the spazing kitten.

Harry yawned as he moved back into his seat, leaning on the cool window. He was surprisingly tired. "Harry?" Draco asked.

"I'm cool." Harry assured the blond. His brother looked at him and whispered something to Draco. Draco nodded back and moved to sit next to Harry. The teen was about to fall into sleep when the compartment door opened and the red haired boy from before stepped in.

"Sorry, but can I sit here? Everywhere else is full." Harry nodded and motioned to the seat next to Dante.

"I'm Ron Weasley." He introduced himself.

"Dante Lupin-Black."

"Draco Black."

"Harry Potter."

Ron was gapping like a fish.

"For starters," Harry began his rant. "I'm not dead, Draco is not a Death Eater nor is he a Malfoy any longer, the papers came in this morning, and lastly, Dante is Draco's cousin not his brother."

"It's not that," Ron protested flushing at the ears. "It's just, I've just never imagined you guys would actually talk to me." Harry smiled. "Why wouldn't we? We don't know anyone here and you took the initiative to make friends, you think we'd turn you away?"

Draco shook his head.

"He thinks that because I'm a Death Eater's son and obviously close to you, we wouldn't talk to a Blood Traitor. Well listen good Weasely. We don't judge anyone on blood. You're talking to a run away, an orphan deserter and a, for lack of a better term, a Fake." Dante looked at Draco with loathing. "Sorry Dante." Draco apologized. "The point is we're all Blood Traitors, so forget the idea that we are too good for you."

Ron nodded shocked, obviously not expecting the subject to be so touchy. "So you're a… a Fake?" He asked Dante, obviously not scared of Dante's background as he was of offending the boy. "Let's just call it Mother-deprived." Dante growled. Ron nodded quickly "M.D." He quickly invented. Harry snorted and Dante and Draco laughed along. "Good one Ron." Dante choked out.

Ron smiled brightly, ignoring the fact he had no idea what they where talking about, and they engaged in talk for the rest of the train ride, as the neat towns turned into rugged country when the door opened again and bushy haired girl came in. "Have you seen a toad? A boy named Neville's lost one."

"I told him at the station that I hadn't seen it." Ron snapped, a little annoyed at having his joke cut off.

"We can find him for you." Dante offered. "Or at lest, Harry can."

They looked at Harry and the young wizard smiled and blinked his left eye, pulling up readouts of the train. The heat waves of all the students making it light up like a stop sign. He eliminated the human waves as well as cats and owls and found that three splotches lit up.

One was in the compartment next to them, the other was in the hands of a girl and the third was in the trunk compartment. Harry relayed the information to the girl who introduced herself as Hermione Granger.

When she'd left the four boys had delved back into the mass of snacks Harry had bought from off the cart in the hopes of waking himself up with some sugary goodness. While in the midst of discussing the point of a pepper flavored bean, their door opened once again and Harry froze.

Turning slowly he spotted a tall dark haired Slytharin boy. The boy had the same feel his uncle had had around him whenever he was drunk. It was the air of implied power, the boy obviously thought himself on a different plain than the rest of them.

"So Draco. Decided to show your cute little face?"

"Zabini!" Draco hissed.

"Oh good, they haven't erased your memories, you must obviously be under the Imperious Curse. Come away right now Draco. We'll leave this filth at once."

"What shit are you flinging Zabini? I left on my own accord, they had nothing to do with it." Draco defended Harry who was too out of it to really realize what was going on.

"Oh don't even try to defend him." Zabini spat in Harry's direction. "He'd do anything to steal you away from me."

"Get off your high horse before I knock you off." Harry threatened from his corner.

"Get up and make me Potter."

Harry clambered to his feet but just as he aimed a swing at Zabini, the boy darted back and closed the door making Harry's hand shatter the glass. Harry didn't cry out, simply aimed and landed a fist full of glass, square into the Slytharin's pompous face. The glass transferred and for a fleeting moment, Harry could see himself ripping the glass over the boy's eye, only it wasn't a student any more but his uncle.

Giving himself a shake he sat back down.

"What a waist of a door." Harry muttered picking out he few remaining pieces of glass from his fit.

Dante hummed his agreement, eyes still glued to the passing scenery as though Harry always bet the crap out of Slytharin scum.

"So Ron, you really think you can make meals out of Bertty Botts?" Draco asked returning to their topic of conversation as if nothing had happened.

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The train pulled to a stop just as the four boys had finished changing. Vexation yawned and stretched out his back legs and climbed into Harry's pocket. Harry latched his trunk and followed Draco and Dante out of the compartment, flattening his hair against his eye.

"Why do you do that?" Ron asked as they climbed out of the train and made their way to the lantern bobbing in the distance.

"Because, no one should have to look at it. It's bad enough that I look at them through it." Harry answered monotone. "It's a wicked scare mate." Ron assured his new friend. "I have plenty to go around." Harry offered up. Ron paled then laughed as Harry's lips twitched into a smile.

As they left the train a booming voice called out "Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" Harry dragged Draco off getting a look from Zabini that was filled with such malevolence that Harry was thankful looks couldn't kill. Though he stalked them as they followed the voice to where a monstrous man stood with a lantern in hand, Harry was able to shake off the boy by heading straight for the man.

"'Ello there 'Arry."

"Um, hi." Harry replied surprised.

"You might not 'member me. Rubius Hagrid. I saved yer from yer house when you was only a baby. Took you to the Dursleys I did." Harry flinched at the thought of his uncle but shook it off and said "thank you" politely.

They climbed into the boats and made their way to the castle. Ron was talking about his brothers now. Harry was torn between listening to him, watching the castle loomed closer, and drowning out Hermione's twittering from the boat beside them.

Draco and Dante looked like they could fall asleep at any moment in their journey. Harry laughed at them as they jumped in surprise when the boats bumped the shore. Hagrid led them up the stairs to Professor McGonagell.

Harry made a point of waving bye to the man. He smiled and waved himself. Dante smiled at his brother and turned his attention to the stern women who had dogged Sirius' steps throughout his Hogwarts carrier. So this was the Plaid Princess, the one he'd have to out smart. It didn't look to be too difficult. She seemed ancient.

They followed her into the castle ignoring her lecture. When she left, the students around them began to whisper hysterically. The muggle-borns over the sorting, the others over Draco and Harry and the pair themselves, oblivious to their burning ears, about what happened on the train. Zabini was consulting his goons while angrily glaring at them.

Harry turned to Draco and whispered "What's up the that Zabini character?"

"I was his promised." Harry looked confused at Draco. "I was promised to the Zabini character before I was born. Up until I came out I was supposed to be a girl, much to my father's detest. I was promised to Blaise so that our families would be untied. Closure on the deal of darkness passing through our lines forever. But then I was a boy. My mother was so happy, an heir to the family, and an excuse to run away from the Death Eaters for failing them, but my father was too overjoyed at having a boy to care that the deal between the Zabinis and the Malfoys would go unfulfilled.

"He praised his wife and my mother was forced to smile like all her dreams hadn't just died. Zabini and I played together, hoping we'd form a close friendship that they could mold into love, because the Zabinis wanted in on the Malfoy name and fortune. Blaise found an early bond to me. When I left with my mother at the age of five, he vowed he'd return me to his side, or so my mother warns."

Harry sighed and hugged his friend. "It's okay Draco. I won't let your father or anyone else get their claws in you." Draco smiled and hugged back. Dante cooed over them muttering things about lovebirds and soul mates.

Draco and Harry arched eyebrows at each other and punched Dante square in the jaw at the same time, sending him flying backwards.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?" He cried jumping up to retaliate.

"For the goo-goo eyes." Harry answered.

"I was talking about the red head and the book worm!" Dante fumed pointing to Ron and Hermione who were bickering. "But" he started in a singsong voice. "If you too are so defensive, maybe I should be picking on you." Draco growled and Harry flashed a warning look. Dante only laughed.

McGonagell entered stopping any thoughts of retaliation then and their. Draco, Dante and Harry lined up in their uniform manner and followed her instep with each other.

The Great Hall was exactly as their Guardians had described it. The candles over head where bobbing in a rhythmic motion that sent waves of light washing over the four great tables which stretched the length of the Hall. At the front stood the long line of the staff table with the empty chair next to Dumbeldore who sat smack-dad in the middle of it all.

The students around them watched the precession of first years as they stumbled up to the stairs to the staff table. Harry was having a hard time controlling his shield as muggle born female pressed close to him, trying to get away from the eyes.

Draco pushed forward so as to bump her up a few steps, releasing Harry of his struggle. He nodded to Draco thankfully, to which the blond answered with a smile that sent Blaise Zabini into a rant of string of violent curse words, making many of the first years around him take two giant steps away from him.

The sorting began with a song Harry had little to no interest in. Instead he took in the surrounding auras. A fourth of the school was purebloods, a half was half bloods like himself, a little less than a fourth was muggleborns and the other small percentage where M.Ds. Harry looked at Dante.

It was pretty easy to tell he was a Potion Baby or a Fake, a term akin to Mudblood for Muggleborns implying the person was not human but a fake human. He had paler skin than, for lack of a better term, real human. His eyes were bright and his hair was too soft to be considered real. He was of an above average build before his werewolf genes had kicked in, making him appear older than his 11 years.

Looking around Harry noticed that the other Potion Babies were in Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, the quieter of the four houses, blending into shadows of muggleborns and geniuses. Harry was brought out of his probing when Draco gave his hand a squeeze and left to the call of "Black, Draco". Harry smiled at him as he looked down at the first years from the three-legged stool on which he sat.

Harry doubted that there had been a longer sorting in many years. He half expected Professor McGonagell to take off the sorting hat and tell him there had been a mistake and that Draco had to get the next train home. But in the end the hat left it's rumpled expression of thought for one of enlightenment. Opening its wide mouth it held the school on the edge of its seat before it cried out "GRYFFANDOR!"

Silence.

Then a loan pair of hands started clapping, quickly followed by another. Harry and Dante clapped loud and hard and Draco took the hat off and made his way to his respective table. The next pair of hands was an unexpected one.

Severus Snape was clapping as Draco took his seat, which only seemed to stun the crowd more until McGonagell could shake herself enough to read the next name.

Harry looked from Draco to Dante to Zabini who was biting off the leg of his fellow Slytharin goon in anger. Harry smirked and turned his attention to the maps and blueprints of the school that flashed before his eye. The school was fascinating on it's own, but the inhabitance doubled it's weird factor. He watched ghosts and suits of armor as they meandered through the halls, he could see the stair cases moving and the portraits that visited each other, helping one another with the preschool year cleaning.

"Lupin, Dante" floated into his ears and he rocketed back into reality to give his friend a pat on the back. He approached the hat with a cool confidence that made the school respect him instantly. He sat down and in seconds the hat had shouted "GRYFFINDOR!" Dante left the stool to clapping and even had the nerve to bow, which sent the school into a fit of laughter.

Harry zoned out again as they made their way through the rest of the letters up to 'P'. He walked forward, ignoring whispers behind him as he took his seat.

Mr. Potter. 

_**Mr. Sorting Hat.**_

_Cute. On to your sorting. I see that you have talent well beyond you years and a knowledge that surpasses most. There's bravery and a thirst to prove yourself and oodles of cunning._

_**Did you really just say oodles?**_

_I'm a thousand year old hat I can say what I please. Now, under all this talent I still see…is this fear Mr. Potter?_

Harry felt himself stiffen and could tell the Hall had seen it too as there was a small gasp.

Yes, fear drilled into your mind by years of torture you don't even remember. Years of pain you block from your thoughts, some you remember while other so violent your mind has shut down, and some you still don't remember to this day.

Harry was gripping the stool tight now. He really didn't like this.

You're afraid they'll find out. Afraid he'll come back. Afraid you'll remember, afraid of being weak. But mostly, I see the fear of being taken again. Taken like so many times before by such a man. Such a horrible man that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named pales in comparison.

Harry wanted to scream to rip the hat off and light it on fire. He could tell the Hall knew something was wrong. Especially when he shook his head violently in the negative.

You Mr. Potter, have problems above the comprehension of any group other than- 

"SLYTHARIN!" Harry heard the hat call out to the hall. If silence had followed Draco's sorting, death had followed Harry's. Even the couple ghosts that where chuckling in the next room and watching from behind the doors had stopped all sound.

Harry removed the hat, hardly daring to believe it. After all the years of being told he was going to be put in Gryffindor like his mum and dad, he was in Slytharin. Or at lest he was till Dumbeldore took the hat from him, placing it on his own head and began muttering words to check its accuracy.

After a few stunned moments he replaced it on Harry's head and without a word to the teen beneath it called out Gryffindor.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, these things do happen. The hat is old, and I find myself checking and resorting students often. If there are any other problems with the sorting choices made by our old relic, don't hesitate to inform me and we will give you a new sorting." He assured the crowd but he was lying and Harry, Draco and Dante picked up on it instantly.

"Harry, if you could kindly join your new house?" Dumbeldore motioned for him to leave the stool surrounded by belated but ecstatic cheers and clapping. The red haired twins from the train station even started singing, "We've got Potter! We've got Potter!"

Harry settled himself next to Draco and across form Dante, giving them a meaning full look before presently shaking mean hands and smiling at Hermione who was seated on the other side of Dante.

When the list was finally coming to a close, Ron sorted into Gryffindor and took the set next to Dante. They smiled and clapped loudly making his ears flush red.

Dumbeldore clambered to his feet again.

"Welcome!" He cried opening his arms wide as if to huge the whole Hall. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our feast, I have but a few words to say. Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you." He bowed and sat again. Several muggleborns laughed then gasped at the array of food on the tables before them.

Harry quickly helped himself to roast beef, boiled potatoes, carrots, peas and fries. He was stuffing his face in competition with Dante when a voice from his pocket made him loose. As Dante did a victory dance in his seat and challenged Ron, Harry pulled Vexation from his pocket.

How bout you pass some of that my way? The immortal hinted.

Harry pretended to be in thought then when Vex nipped his finger. He cut up some chicken for the young cat.

That's better. The immortal muttered wolfing down the scraps.

Harry laughed and rejoined conversation with Draco and Dean, a boy that had been sorted after Harry.

When they had cleaned their plates and sufficiently stuffed themselves, the plates of food cleared, making way for the desserts. As the wolfed these down, their appetites suddenly returning, the conversation turned to families.

"I'm half and half." A boy names Shamus announced. "Me dad's a Muggle. Mum's a witch. Bit of a nasty shock for him when he found out." Shamus laughed and slurped up some Jell-O.

"What about you Dante?"

Harry dropped his spoon.

"Something wrong Harry?" Dean asked. Draco gave him a look and he nodded. "Yeah, just cold. Haven't had ice cream before." He muttered trying to sound embraced.

"Never?!" The boys asked agape.

"No, the… people I lived with for 7 years never let me have sweets. Then it was too hard to find somewhere that would sell it." Harry explained. It wasn't a complete lie. At the safe house, it had been a rare occasion to get ice cream as Narcissa and Bella usually gobbled it down with Evangeline.

Draco and Dante where smiling knowingly.

"Who did you live with for seven years that never let you have ice cream?" Asked Ron scandalized.

Harry gulped. In taking the attention of Dante he'd put it on himself.

"My…my Muggle relatives." A hint of venom slipped out as he said muggle. He hadn't meant for it too and he was almost sure no one had picked up on it but he had to watch himself. "They didn't like me very much, because they hated my parents." He nervously flattened his hair over his eye, an act that was noticed by all, but not commented upon.

The feast was coming to a close and Harry's mind was wandering when suddenly white-hot pain flashed across his dormant scar. He jumped a little but it was the only show of pain he allowed himself, and only because it had been so sudden.

Dante and Draco turned away from Ron and Dean with whom they were joking and turned to Harry who waved them off with a look that told them he'd explain it all later. The desserts disappeared and Dumbeldore rose again.

"Just a few announcements. Fist years should note that the Forbidden Forest, is just that, Forbidden, and some of our older students would due well to remember that as well."

Pointed glance at a pair of red heads.

" Next, Mr. Filch has asked me to remind you that no magic should be used in between classes.

"Quidditch tryouts will be held at a date specified by your Head of House. Anyone interested should inform said Head.

"Last but not lest, the third floor corridor on the right hand side is out of bounds to anyone who doesn't wish to die a most painful death."

Harry looked to Dante and Draco with an evil smirk playing on his lips that was mirrored by both boys.

"Now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song."

Harry, Dante, Draco and the Weasley twins jumped to their feet.

"Everyone pick their favorite tune and off we go!"

The words appeared in the form of a red ribbon that twisted itself into the words.

The previously mentioned boys sang loud and clear in a chorus line version of a funeral march, each boy on a different note, Draco ridding high at soprano, with George under him, Fred under him, Harry under him and Dante thudding along as base. The whole school was laughing so hard they couldn't sing. Dumbeldore conducted their progress with his wand before the five bowed to whoops and hollers from the crowd.

"Ah, music. A finer magic can not be found even in these walls." Dumbeldore wiped a fake tear from his eyes then stared into the distance for a time before seemingly snapping out of it and rejoining the rest of the Hall on planet earth.

"Now, off to bed." He made a sweeping motion with his hands and Harry felt compelled to move towards the door. He resisted, as he would to all other outside forces, as though it were the imperious curse, knocking on his metal doors.

Harry, Dante and Draco made a dash for the center of the crowds so as to avoid the searching eyes of their Head of House as well as their Headmaster. Once out of their line of sight the three shifted back into their own appearances and followed Percy to the Common Room.

"Password?" The fat lady in pink, absolutely dripping in lace cooed as she looked about her at the small first years, her eyes landing on Draco with some surprise but also with understanding that didn't go unnoticed by Harry, though it seemed to escape everyone else. "Caput Draconis" Percy answered making the portrait swing forward hiding the Fat Lady's smile.

Inside Percy directed their attention to the different dormitories. Harry, Draco and Dante said their good nights to Hermione and followed Ron up the stairs. Dean and Shamus had clamed the beds farthest from the windows, while Neville had taken residence in the one nearest the stairs leaving the two beds on one side of the window as well as the lone bed on the far wall for the three remaining boys.

Harry took the lone bed, too tired to care much about his choice. He managed to pull out his flannel sleep pants and a large t-shirt and slipped them on before he collapsed into bed, Vexation asleep at his feet. Dante hadn't made it past the pants portion of the routine and Draco…well he was out cold in his robes beside the bed.

To tired to look after the invalid, Harry yawned, snuffed out the candle on his side table and fell into a dreamless sleep.


	6. Chapter 5: Living with Fame

CHAPTER 5: Living with Fame

"There look!"

"Where?"

"Next to the tall kid with the red hair."

"With one eye hidden behind his bangs?"

"Yes, next to the Malfoy kid."

"Did you see his scar?"

"Did you see his brother?"

Whispers followed Harry, Ron, Draco and Dante from the moment they entered the Common Room that morning. People would double back in hallways to get a better look, trip in front of him just to have pick up their books so they could try to see one of his scars, even bump into him just to touch him.

Bye the end of their first class Harry had his shield up and holding strong. As he navigated the hundred and forty-two staircases and watched his layouts, locating the hidden passageways and avoided the ghosts Harry quickly learned that no matter how much offensive magic he had he couldn't fight these people like he could his dummies. Draco kept catching his hands as he pulled out small daggers. Vexation was continually hissing Cool it! from his place in Harry's pocket, but his words had little effect.

Despite his ever mounting annoyance at the masses of muggleborns and purebloods, which he was quickly learning where just as bad, Harry found it easy to mesh into the classes and daily life at Hogwarts. When he wasn't shielding himself from an attack that would never come, he was reading by the lake with Ron and Dante as Draco flirted aimlessly with Ravenclaws studying on the banks or practicing his magic in the common rooms with Draco while Dante began to show Ron the basics of sword play.

The classes themselves were pretty simple for the three and they spent more time teaching Ron the correct wand motions than they did performing the spells themselves. In History of Magic the boys would send paper airplanes sailing magicly through the air to each other, making the planes do marvelous tricks, dives and spins and spectacular crashes, all of which went unnoticed by their ghost teacher. The whole class enjoyed the break from the boring class and even more so that the three always had notes explaining things better that Binns could ever hope to.

Charms was interesting as each boy tired to out do the other in creativity or time in their charm work, and gained Gryffindor a multitude of points for their ideas and craftsmanship. Transfiguration was much the same only less flash and faster times. The stern Professor McGonagell fought every day to contain her smiles and gave out rare points for their more detailed works. Defense Against the Dark Arts was a joke. Their teacher, Professor Quirll was a bumbling idiot that seemed too timid to fight a pixy let alone a troll or vampire like he claimed to have done. This class was less flashy from the three boys not only because the lessons were pratical but because it seemed that after every class Harry exited with a headache that followed him through till dinner.

No one minded the flashy ways of the trio, as they were quickly called, for two reasons. One, the never boasted or flaunted their talents. Two, they taught anyone willing to learn how to do it. On Friday of the first week, Gryffindor House had become the most skilled and detailed in their work, pleasing all the teachers but one.

As much as Severus Snape loved his Godson, he resented Gryffindor house. It was for this reason that on his Friday classes, he put on a seething sneer and set about drawing on their weakest link.

Harry walked into the dungeons already plagued by a persisting, fast become trademark, headache from DADA and only managed to stay positive by remembering he was going to visit Hagrid that afternoon to talk about how he'd saved the boy.

He flopped down in his seat and buried his head in his arms. Draco sat down worriedly beside him as Dante took up his seat with Ron on their left.

"Harry." Draco said soothingly rubbing the youth's back. "Maybe you should have Pomfery take a look at you? You don't want this to get too far if you're sick."

"I'm not sick Draco. Just goddamn headaches." He swore violently and rubbed at his scar throwing his hair out of place so Ron could see the deep scar over his eye clearly. He bit back a gasp and silently reached over to replace the hair. Harry smiled at him thankfully but had no time to say so as the door at the front of the classroom had swung open and Snape had walked through.

"There will be no wand waving or silly incantations in this class." He started menacingly. "As such, I highly doubt many of you will be able to wrap you incredibly small minds around the beauty that is the softly simmering cauldron or the brewing of potions that can bewitch the mind and ensnare the senses. I could teach you to bottle fame, brew glory, even put a stopper in death."

Harry ached an eyebrow.

"Potter!"

Harry sighed audibly, infuriating the man.

"What would I get if I added powdered root of asphidel to an infusion of worm wood?"

Harry was about to answer when a titanium steel fist slammed into his mental barriers. His only reaction was to flinch slightly and blink as a few scattered images of his uncle escaped his hold. "The Draught of Living Death, Sir." He answered icily, proving the man hadn't rattled him too much.

"Tell me Potter, where would I find a bezoar?" The fist was back but Harry was ready and took a steadfast hand of pointless memories and caught it before it made contact with the walls.

"In the stomach of a goat sir." He replied smirking a little.

To the people around him, that couldn't feel the two men's mounting auras, it looked simply like a round of question and answer but inside their minds, raged a battle that made them brake out into a sweat as they continued the game.

Finally Harry gave a little push back with the one memory of his father he still had retained from his infant years, one of his father holding his mother who was looking down on Harry. Then his father leaned in to kiss his mother and it was too much for Snape.

He pulled out, forfeiting the match. He left them to brew their potions. Everything was fine till Harry heard Hermione grabbing Neville's hand to whisper "Take the cauldron off the fie before adding the quills." He smiled and looked over at her. She blushed and returned to her work.

The rest of the lesson went down with out a synch but by the time they made their way out to Hagrid's for tea, all Harry wanted to do was curl up in his dark bed and die. He put on his hero face and walked down to the small hut.

The giant of a man greeted them with his giant of a dog who went straight for Ron, slobbering over the boy as the rest watched, smothering their laughter.

Introductions were made and tea was served as stories of previous generations began to fly, starting with Harry's parents and ending with Ron's brother Charley. Harry, nursing his cup of tea while trying to support his pounding head, spotted a newspaper from the odd angle he was look at.

Pulling it out he quickly skimmed the article.

"A brake in?" He whispered.

"Draco." He took Draco's attention from Ron who was taking a gulp of tea at the moment. "This happened on my birthday. We went there the day after. You think Uncle saw the damage?"

"Couldn't hurt to ask." Draco responded.

Harry mulled over the paper and why his Godfather/Uncle hadn't said anything about it. He soon forgot it, however, as it made his pounding head throb like there was a bludger beating against it and soon they decided to leave, thanking Hagrid for the stories and tea, promising to visit again.

"Strange that Father didn't say anything about it." Dante brought the topic around as they headed to the castle in the dying winds, his face bathed in the soft orange glow of the setting sun.

"Normally he'd make a simulation out of it. You know?" Harry nodded bust stopped short. He groaned a little left the other two at the foot of the stairs. "I'm not hungry. I'm going up to read and maybe write Uncle Sirius a letter. If I don't fall asleep."

Draco nodded looking concerned and Dante simply waved him off dragging the blond into the Great Hall where he force fed him before the two sprinted up the stairs with Ron to find Harry asleep in his bed, books and papers in a heap around him.


	7. Chapter 6: Quidditch, Werewolves and Bet

CHAPTER 6: Quidditch, Werewolves and Betrothed…Dear God

Harry had never thought he would find someone he loathed nearly as much as his uncle's whale of a son, Dudley, who had made his lasting mark on Harry. But this was all before Harry had met the jealous rage that was Blaise Zabini. The two were always getting in spats all over the school. Though they never actually fought, their verbal banters were as interesting to watch as actual fighting. The few students who could sense auras and the teachers that came around to brake up the fights were impressed by the mounting power that surrounded the two as Harry insulted Zabini while standing in front of Draco as if protecting him from the other's eyes.

They didn't have any classes with the Slytherins other than potions so it was just his luck that they would be put together for flying lessons.

"Just great. Now I have to watch your sorry arse instead of enjoying watching "experienced" flyers in Slytherin make fools of themselves."

"Yeah, but you love my arse." Draco teased shaking said body part at him. Harry laughed and the two continued down to the field were two lines of brooms were lined up facing each other.

Without being told to the Slytherins took one side and the Gryffindors took the other. Dante hadn't been feeling well that morning so he was spending the lovely Friday cooped up in the white confines of the Hospital wing.

Ron took up a broom on one side of Draco as Harry took up the other with Hermione on his other side.

Hermione seemed to be the only muggleborn Harry could tolerate. He guessed it was because she knew so much magic already and gave the trio a run for the creative prize and most number of points earned. He wouldn't call her a friend just yet because she was still as bit to bookish for his liking but he still enjoyed competing with her in classes, driving them both to bigger and better magic.

Madam Hooch paraded up and down the lines of brooms giving out instructions. When they called for their brooms, Draco and Harry caught theirs smoothly. Ron's hit him in the nose, to which there was much laughter. She walked around adjusting grips and Harry was too pleased to see Blaise had been doing it wrong all the years he clamed to be flying under the same man who'd trained the Holy Head Harpies.

They were at the point of taking off when the real trouble started. Neville, who had been a bundle of nerves since the sign had appeared in the Common Room, jumped into the air before Madam Hooch's whistle could touch her lips. People were shouting at him from all different directions, causing Neville to swerve and sway.

Without much thought Harry jumped onto his and shot into the air. There was something about the way the broom moved that didn't seem natural. He chased after Neville, diving around trees and swerving away from violent jerks the boy's broom was now making. After a minute or so he had grabbed Neville by the collar of his robes and hauled him of his broom with strength none thought the scrawny teen would have.

The broom continued to dance madly in the air as Harry floated to the ground. Suddenly his own broom gave a made shake one that turned him upside down as he clung to the broom and Neville to fall off, only feet away from the ground. There was a thump and Harry was sure the boy's wrist was broken. He quickly rolled over and fixed his bangs back in place while everyone's attention was on the boy.

Madam Hooch rushed over, and after assessing that Harry was in no harm other than a bruised back, hurried Neville off to the Hospital Wing. Harry was brushing himself off when he heard as taunting voice behind him call out, "Lookie here, Hero." Harry bristled, his ruffled hair sitting up on his head like a cat's might. Vexation would have been proud if he wasn't hiding in the Common Room being lazy.

Harry tensed visibly and sent out an aura pulse that even the muggleborns could feel. He turned slowly, like something out of a horror film. His eye flashed pulsing with the lightning and thunder that crashed behind him, lighting them up with a ferocity that had Zabini momentarily regret his words. He overcame the shock quickly though, composing his face into the trademark smirk, his hand holding the little glass ball he'd picked out of the grass, up so that Harry could inspect the prize without risk of him getting his hands on it.

"While you dropped that fat fool on his fat face, he must have dropped it. A shame, if he'd given this a squeeze he might have remembered to ask Hero here to hold on tighter." Harry was advancing quickly on the Slytharin. To avid contact with the fired up teen, Zabini jumped on his broom and took off into the air. He sailed backwards into the sky. Harry didn't hesitate to follow.

The two preformed an intricate dance of dives and spins as Harry chased after the aristocrat. Zabini began to loose his confidence as Harry continued to pull speed from the ancient broom. Zabini looked back as he raced away. The pest was gaining on him fast. He pitched the small sphere into the air and dove for the ground. With a steep dive and a roll, Harry caught the transparent ball and landed smoothly without a stumble in the entire maneuver.

"Mr. Potter! Never in all my years at Hogwarts!" Harry smiled softly at Draco and passed the little ball to him. He followed McGonagell up to the arch and into the castle. Draco assured his classmates, having heard the well-covered trace of excitement in their stern teacher's voice. He left Ron, Dean and Shamus and headed for the Hospital wing, the remebral clutched in his hand.

He nodded to the medi-witch as he walked the prize to Neville who was lounged out on the bed, his arm on the mend. Draco smiled as delight light the boys face and explained how Harry had saved it for him. Neville stared at the small ball in his hands, taking in all Draco had told him. The blond clapped him on the back and said "Harry's watching out for all of us." Neville nodded still stunned. Draco had moved on before he could think of anything to say.

Draco sat behind a closed off section of the Hospital wing with a pale and sickly looking Dante. When the boy woke enough to notice Draoc's presence, the first question out of his mouth was "Where's Harry?"

Draco laughed slightly and ruffled the wolf's hair. "Hello to you too." Dante smiled back, bearing his elongating fangs. Draco proceeded to explain the happenings of that day's classes much to Dante's amusement and at the end all he could say was "That boy better have not gotten himself a detention for tonight or I'll eat him."

Draco laughed at the serious look on the young wolf's face. "You know, you're the only one who could say that and mean it." Dante left the ghost of a smile settle on his face before looking out the window at the forest. "This will be my first change without dad." He whispered. Draco's smile dropped from his face faster than water off a rock.

"I had forgotten." He muttered apologetically.

"I'm sure Harry did as well. I'm going to need Mr. Flash-Happy to rain me in. I'll keep looking for my alpha. I might get out of control. You'll tell him?"

Draco nodded, saying, "He probably already knows."

Draco stayed with his cousin until he drifted into an uneasy sleep. Draco ruffled the hair again before leaving quietly out the front door, unnoticed by the small batch of third years come to get boils removed after a potions accident.

Draco found Harry wandering around dazedly, with a string of worried admirers following him around asking questions incessantly, despite their unanswered nature. Dinner was starting soon so the majority had given him up as a hopeless cause but a few lingered on his chain. Draco dispatched of them quickly. They picked Ron up outside the Hall doors and the three went in for dinner where Draco extracted the information.

"Seeker?!" Ron cried as soon as they understood Harry's fragmented speech.

The hall turned in their direction as whispers broke out amongst the crowd. "But first years never make the house team." He stated agog, the stake and kidney pie on his fork, forgotten midway to his mouth. "You must be the youngest player in…"Draco trailed off thinking.

"In a century." Harry filled in for him.

"Merlin. This is wicked!" Ron gasped.

"No, I'm Harry. Jeez Ron, Quidditch really does addle your brain."

Ron gave Harry a whack upside the head in a friendly fashion.

They were contemplating how Dante would react to the news when a shadow blocked Harry's view of his plate. Turning around he saw Zabini towering over him.

"A duel, tonight Potter. Trophy room, unless you're chicken." Harry raised an eyebrow at the boy but nodded in agreement. Zabini left, feeling like he'd finally won.

"Moron." Harry whispered. "Like I'd fall for that. He'll just alert Filch and catch us like the dirty rat he is."

Ron nodded before returning to his cold pie. "How's Dante by the way?" He asked his mouth full at the time. Draco, used to such sights from Dante returned, "Better, he should be out by Wednesday. He also said he was going to eat you if you got a detention." He informed Harry who paled. "He means it too." Harry gulped. Ron and Draco laughed, Harry joining in when his pout got him nowhere.

That night, Harry and Draco snuck out of their Common Room and to the Hospital wing. Harry pulled himself into the shadows gracefully, Draco following in his footsteps just avoiding the squeaky tiles. The two slipped out onto the grounds and spotting Madam Pomfery with Dante in toe.

"I'm sorry I can't give you Woflsbane like I gave your father but you history…"

"I know Madam. I'm a potion baby after all. None of the potions any human can make will work with my genetics." Dante sighed a bit softly.

"You're not the only one you know." She whispered. They disappeared behind some trees, which Harry looked through with his magical eye so as not to loose them.

"They met every once and a while, when it gets too hard. I can introduce you to them. They've made some attempts at recreating potion that work for the chemical structure of your bodies. I'm sure they'd love your help."

Dante didn't answer, too involved with his fighting the Change to focus any more. "Thank you." He growled out at last. "Sure dear." She muttered soothingly as she strapped him down to the bed within the shreaking shack. "I'm sorry to do this dear."

"It'd be different if my father where here, I know. Besides I don't blame you." His eyes had gone icy blue and Madam Pomfery had hardly enough time to escape the passage, let alone reassure him. She sighed and made here way back to the castle.

Harry and Draco made their way back to the shack and hit the knot with a well aimed twig, before slipping in, changing in the tunnel. Harry's arm's elongated and his body coated itself with feathers of the gold, red and orange variety. Fire raced though his eyes and danced in his mind as he stretched the Pheonix wings and trilled happily at the Ice Dragon next to him. They two were using their most powerful forms as they would need all their strength to help their friend retain his mind.

They entered the room to find the werewolf pup thrashing about in his shackles. Flying into view, Firefly, a girly name Evangeline had picked out for his form, distracted the pup while Icicle unlocked the shackles.

The pup jumped up and began clawing the wooden cupboards, howling in pain as he flexed and turned, his skin twisting with the final stages of his Change. Suddenly his icy eyes sprang open and he let out an ear-shattering howl that shook the small cabin violently.

Firefly whooshed down singing a soothing song, causing wolves and dogs and stages made of brilliant fire to run around the floor. The pup watched with longing and soon he let out a cry of longing, one that Remus heard miles off and returned with one of his own as a large black dog calmed him by snuffling into his neck. Beside them, a white fox, a snake and a raven watched sadly as their friends suffered.

Dante got his answering call and was content, knowing his alpha was still around and longing for him. He wouldn't be replaced. They spent the night romping through the woods with only a few near misses when Dante tried to run off to find his father. A few hours before dawn, Firefly led Dante back to his bed where the wolf allowed Icicle to return him to his shackles. The pup watched as his two friends left him as he began his Change back. He thrashed in the chains and ripped his skin bleeding over the old sheets.

Harry and Draco had made their way back to the castle, only to find Mrs. Norris staring at them with her lamp-like eyes. They made a mad dash for it, know Filch was right on her tail. She followed, screeching like a Siren for her master. Harry and Draco slammed through doors and passages finally loosing the beast three staircases up as they forced themselves though a locked door.

Pressing their ears to the door they heard Filch pass by and let out a sigh of relief that they only choked on seconds latter when they heard the low growl, in three different octaves.

Barely daring to turn, the two boys looked over their shoulder to see the monstrous three-headed dog that bared its massive fangs at them. It began to bark, massive booming barks that put Fang to sham. Harry and Draco couldn't suppress the screams as they fled the room, slamming the door on one of its noses.

Painting, the two turned to each other and smile drunkenly.

"Ha…haha…Hahahahahahahha." Harry couldn't help it. Something about being mauled by a three-headed dog was just so amusing. Soon Draco had joined in and the pair where piled in a heap at the bottom of the stairs laughing so hard their ribs hurt.

When they had control again they made their way into the Gryffindor Common room and up to the dorms, still laughing at bit as they climb into bed for three hours of sleep.


	8. Chapter 7:Solutions Bring Problems

CHAPTER 7: Solutions Bring Problems

Harry dragged himself out of bed the next morning and hauled his weary body down the stairs to where Draco was waiting for him, unresponsive on a couch. They hauled themselves to the field outside and did their daily routine of laps and push-ups and other cartio-warm ups.

Moring Prodigy Harry glared at Vexation as he pranced down the stairs, tail swishing elegantly behind him.

Morning Vexation. Harry answered before returning to his sparing with Draco.

Higher Prodigy! Your stance is too close together and you hands to low.

Harry growled but obayed.

Much better. Now work on bring your whole body into the punch, you're only using half the power of your punch.

And so it went like every other morning. As they went through the hand-to-hand exercises, Vexation coaching Harry and Sage drilling Draco till both hauled their weary bodies up to the Common Room for a shower before heading off to the hospital wing, promising Ron they'd catch him up in the Great Hall.

Madam Pomfery was checking Dante over before she released him. "Mr. Potter." She started menacingly after turning to see who had entered her ward. "Where exactly did you manage to get that claw mark on your arm?" Harry looked down surprised. He hadn't known the three-headed dog had gotten him. Shuffling his feet he looked to Dante for help.

"That's not a claw mark Madam." Dante suddenly improvised, though still obviously confused.

"See, Harry's had really bad nightmares for as long as we're known him. He's pretty good at keeping them quiet but at a risk to himself. That's just what he does." When the medi-witch turned to look at Harry, Dante shot him a look that said "Tell me everything or die." Harry shuffled his feet. Before any more could be said Dante had lead Harry and Draco to the Great Hall. On their way Draco and Harry explained what had happened on their way back.

"It must be here for a reason." Dante reasoned as they sat down.

"Morning guys!" A cheery voice called cutting off their conversation. "Feeling better Dante?"

"Fine thanks!" He turned back to Draco asking "Who was that?"

Draco shrugged and Harry laughed. "We appear to be quiet popular." The blonde brushed off the greeting. Harry snorted at the understatement and raised an eyebrow at the length of the table, which seemed to be shifting to the center as if the benches were bowed inwards. Harry looked up at the screech of owls before glancing down again.

You need to write Evangeline, Prodigy. Harry spazed for a moment before realizing the voice had come from Vexation.

Where did you come from? I thought I left you in the room.

You will never be rid of me Prodigy. Now pass downs some bacon. Vex said almost sadly as he leapt into Harry's arms. Harry stroked the immortal and let the cat snag bacon from his plate. Just then Dante's snowy owl Hedwig landed in front of them, a long thin parcel in her mouth.

"Happy belated birthdays Harry. For all the ones I missed. I told your Godfather he could buy you the next one. Love Bella and Eva." Harry read the note perplexed then joy light up his face and he hugged the parcel to himself.

"She didn't!" Draco cried.

Harry snuck a look into the brown paper, glee lighting his features as well as his words as he sang, "She did!"

He exposed the handle of a Nimbus Two-Thousand to Draco, Dante and Ron all of whom ogled the broom as if it where a new dagger.

"Oh, Harry this is so cool. We got to go try it out!" Dante said standing up fast, wobbling a bit. "I don't think we'll be doing that today." Harry laughed. He patted his broom happily and tucked it out of the reach of the students around him.

That day, the four boys lounged out under trees enjoying the last cold breaths of summer. They had a go on Harry's Nimbus after much mind wandering from the papers they were supposed to be writing. Harry hadn't felt so free in his life. The minimal space at the safe house had allowed on the most cautious of flying, but here he was in open air without rules or limitations.

He naturally took full advantage of the fact and spent most of the time after that in the air. They were still on the pitch when Wood came out with the rest of his team to evaluate Harry. Dante, Draco and Ron took seats in the stands with Fred and George and watched as Harry caught everything Wood threw at him.

Whoops and cheers filled the stadium as Harry became a bit more confident and tried out complex dives and raced after rogue balls, exploring into faints and rolls, his dives getting steeper and steeper till he was almost parallel to the stands during them.

After that he days flew past, with practice three times a week and sometimes on Saturdays, not to mention homework and tutoring, Halloween approached Harry quickly.


	9. Chapter 8: Halloween Hunters

CHAPTER 8: Halloween Hunters

On the morning off, Harry woke up, knowing immediately that it was the 31st. There was a general feeling that rolled with the Death Holiday telling Harry that once again he would be sitting in dark corners contemplating everything that had happened and everything that could of happened. He'd build another shrine in his trunk and he would reflect but at the same time he had classes to attend.

In the spirit of things Harry morphed his untamed black hair into a shaggy, flat mass that covered his head in a presentable yet chaotic way. He became the black-armband-wearing ball of sadness he always was when it came to this time of year. He dressed in black t-shirt and pants with his already black coat/cloak over top and made his way down the stairs and out the door.

People watched him go and were surprised by the sudden turn of events. Harry had always been the most light hearted about things, unless someone ticked him off, but then it was the person's own damn fault. To see him in such serious darkness was scarier that pissing him off. The chances of him blowing something up seemed much more likely now then ever.

Dante and Draco had adorned black armbands and shirts as well, but they seemed only to be resisting the dress code than really morning compared to Harry. Before he even stepped foot into the Great Hall people had heard of his unusual way. The teachers were a buzz when they saw the rumors were true. While the students didn't have a clue as to why he was acting in that fashion, the teachers knew exactly what was going on.

Harry sat down quietly, ignoring all other outside annoyances and looked to the ceiling as the owls flew in. There was Hedwig, three black envelopes in her beak. She landed before Harry and the boy took the letters and the small packages she brought in.

He had been wondering how his family would send their contributions to his shrine. He left without eating, Draco and Dante leaving him to his own accord for the first time since they'd arrived at Hogwarts.

The students watched him go, a few who were old enough to understand explaining to the more infuriating of the younger ones. The younger ones spread it around until the whole school knew that today was the day Harry Potter's parents were killed.

Harry left the school to find peace in the forest. While the whole school seemed to know his name, know what he stood for, they didn't seem to know a thing about what he'd suffered for it. He made his way into the heart of the forest and set a pile of twigs and leaves in a small pile. Concentrating, Harry waved his hand at the pile so it molded together and rose from the ground shifting and changing it's shape till it formed and elegant table with intricate carvings in the orange, red and gold of the leaves and the brown of the sticks.

From the small package Sirius and Remus had sent him, Harry drew out pictures of his parents was well as a few mementos saved from their time. A broken snitch that could only flap one wing, the same one James stole during his final year as seeker, a stage toy Lily had made for Harry, and their wedding rings. As an Auror and the wife of the most sought after man in the wizarding world, Lily and James had charmed their rings to with stand anything.

Harry set them before the picture so that the bands lay atop each other and smiled. He said a few words and let himself touch up the shrine. He had never been taken to his parents graves, so he had no idea what it would be like to stand over them, really visit with them, well as close to visit as he could get to them.

He imagined that it would be something like this, only instead of lilies he picked from the edge of the forest placed before it, there would be conjured Lilies that lasted as long as the silver spun petals and gold steamed flowers he'd transfigure stood shinning. He imagined he'd cry, something he wasn't willing to admit, but with everything that had happed it was only fare to believe.

Once Harry had finished, he made his way up to the castle in time for the warning bell to ring. He summoned his stuff, not caring about being discreet. His magic levels were already off the charts, it would be expected that he'd have excess magic. He made his way through classes, ignoring the sympathetic looks he got from teachers and students alike. In all his classes he allowed himself a bit of leniency with his restraint resulting in his blowing his feather through the roof during Charms.

He was sure that if it had been anyone else there would have been laughter, but around him it was just awe. He forced himself to repair the roof with a less than perfect touch that Flitwick prided him on, despite the shoddy craftsmanship.

They were leaving Charms when Ron and Hermione caught him up. "That was wicked mate." Ron laughed making Harry smile for the first time that day. Dante smiled at Ron around Hermione. Draco winked at Harry and started laughing himself. Harry kept the smile on his face his hair puffing up some.

As they were walking down the stairs however, Harry's hair stood on end when he heard what Blaise was saying.

"That slutty girl, she'd put out for anyone, even a teacher if it meant the difference between and 'A' and an 'A+'. I bet the Fake would just about do anyone too! Just to feel like he was normal, or like he belonged at all."

Harry reeled around and swept Zabini's feet from under him braking one as he went, as Dante landed a crushing punch to his face, braking his nose. Draco obliterated the other Slytharins memories of the incident then gave Zabini a good kick in the balls. "See, I really don't want them!" He snapped. By that time Hermione had run off.

Harry and Dante took off after her, Dante in the lead as they rocketed past Ron who had started chasing the girl as soon as she'd made a run for it.

Draco stayed behind to finish off the ego inflated Slytharin.

"HERMIONE!" Dante pounded on the door of the girls bathroom. "Come on Hermione. They're just stuck up Pureblood filth, they only say such things to make themselves feel better about interbreeding." Harry cried joining his friend in battering down the door. Ron caught them up and panted out "We know that stuff they said wasn't true! No one would believe it!"

Still they got no response.

Harry backed up and sat down on the opposite wall. "I'm waiting for you Hermione." He called. Dante sat down with him saying "We're not going anywhere without you!" Ron plopped down beside them but didn't say anything. She knew he was there.

The three sat their four twenty minutes before Draco joined them in their silent wait. Ten minutes later however, the growling of Dante and Ron's stomachs combined was too much for Harry and Draco and the two burst out laughing. "HEY!" Dante cried, smacking Harry upside the head. Ron glared pointedly at Draco before taking a swipe at the boy as well.

"We can't leave her, but if I don't get some food I'm going to eat Harry." Dante stated seriously, making Harry blanch. "What is this fascination with eating me?" Harry cried. "Yeah! Why don't you ever want to eat me?" Draco put in. Dante raised and eyebrow. "Not that I don't mind, I'm just curious." Draco said holding his hands up as if to defend himself from the young werewolf. "You smell funny." Dante answered Draco.

A few seconds of silence then Harry and Ron burst out laughing and a small smile crept its way up Dante's face. "WHAT?!" Draco asked disbelieving. "Yeah, you have this sort of unappetizing stench that hangs about you. I think you can blame your father." Suddenly Dante gasped and covered his nose. "Speaking of orders!" He cried. "It wasn't me!" Ron exclaimed causing the others to laugh before, after a couple more minutes, Harry and Draco caught onto the scent. Ron caught it only a few moments before the troll rounded the corner.

"Places!" Harry shouted. He grabbed Ron and blended with the shadows pulling the red head out of the line of fire as Dante and Draco took up their stances.

When they troll made it's way to the bathroom, Dante shot off a warning shot, causing the troll to turn his attention onto them. Dante lifted his daggers from his boots as Draco transfigured a strong sword from one of the suits of armor, ignoring the affronted grunt the hallway décor gave him before it turned into an elongated steal sword with a ribbed grip that had once been the shoulder plates.

Harry took the excess steal from Draco's transfiguration, transfigured them into a clip and loaded the gun he carried. He liked the guns, they gave a feeling of power, one he'd learned from his uncle after the man had plaid a game of Russian Rulet with Harry's head instead of his own.

Draco lunged forward, slicing the troll's legs immobilizing it, as well as knocking it to the ground. Dante lunged for the eyes blinding it as Harry shot off a couple rounds into its arms, rendering its club useless. Harry took a few more, well placed shots at its strong hide and managed to make it cry out in pain. The thing was thrashing violently as they all took sides. Hermione poked her head out during this point, only to see a huge grayish fist hurtling at her. Dante took a dive and caught the blow, knocking Hermione over but protecting her from the flailing arms. His face was bruising fast and his arm hung limply at his side, as he took up his second dagger in the same hand as the first.

He keep the fist way from them while waiting for and opening to rush Hermione out of the line of fire. Harry squeezed another round into the thing's shoulders, severing the tendons giving Dante just the chance he needed. Draco had cut up the back of it's legs, so that the feet rest lazily on the floor while the hips flailed helplessly. Harry clambered onto it's back only to be thrown of when the thing bucked under him. He hit the wall hard, his own face turning a purple to Dante's. Draco plunged his word into the troll's back. Ripping wildly into the hid he severed the tendons all the way up the spin, knocking out the trolls nerves one by one. Harry launched himself up and shot a pair of bullets into the back of the troll's head, effectively killing it, slowly, painfully, but completely.

Panting they turned to each other, smiles on their faces. Hermione was clutching at Dante with all her will power, trying to mesh with the werewolf. Bloody and aching, the three first years led the two stunned year mates back to the common room. Just as their splattered trench coats whipped around the corner, the teachers happened upon the troll, drawn by all the noise.

McGonagell screamed, Quirll fainted and Snape turned away. The brutal carnage left of the once mighty mountain troll barely resembled the creature. If they hadn't known that it was a mountain troll they were looking fore, they would have mistaken the lump of warm flesh as the remains of a Dragon's feast, or maybe meat the house elves had to leave before giving to the threstrals. The steaming blood spilled from the creature staining the stone in its sticky warmth, pouring over the corridor like a blanket of red water. The teachers picked up the hems of their robes and made their way closer, attempting to ignore the gut wrenching stench that arouse from the pile of flesh.

"Who ever did this was an expert killer." Snape muttered, examining the way the beast had met its ends. "The way he took down the troll was perfection. They stopped it from moving, by cutting it's legs here." Snape pointed for the benefit of the less experienced in the art of dissection and anatomy or just plain observation. "The next thing to go was the eyes," He pointed to where the red sockets sat gapping out, the remains of the tattered eyes hanging from the lids' still attached in the killers hastiness. "Leaving the troll sightless, it's less likely to move, its other sensory lacking more than it sight already was." Snape walked around the troll. " They immobilized its arms next, with what look likes a very focused and powerful Reducto. That forced it to drop its club." He pointed to the large wooden bat at the side of the hall.

"It looks like they cut the tendons next, stopping all movement by the arms and legs, insuring that they would be useless. They cut up the spin next, severing the nerves, killing the thing slowly, and guaranteeing the success of the kill." Snape ran a ghost hand along the exposed back. "Then another shot to the head, killing it for good and a second for safety." He gestured at the small holes in the back of the grayish skull.

"There must have been more than one. One on swords, one distracting the limbs and another immobilizing the creature bit by bit, taking it down like a…" He stuttered out realizing why the attack method was so familiar. "Like a pack of wolves."

Silence.

Meanwhile 

Harry and Dante sprawled out as Draco applied healing balm to their faces and backs. Harry sat up with a wince and turned to Dante handing him a pillow. Dante stuffed as much as he could of the fluffy thing into his mouth and bit down hard. Harry reached around and popped Dante's shoulder back into place as the werewolf let loose a howl, muffled into the pillow.

Spitting the thing out, Dante rotated his arm, wincing as it clicked around in his joint. Draco was tending to Hermione and Ron, both of whom were in shock. "Told you we'd protect you." Harry laughed as the three boys took up their "just-finished-kicking-major-ass-and-now-posing-for-photos" pose, as named by Sirius and Evangeline.

Hermione smiled and fainted as Ron nodded simply and staggered up to the dorms.

Dante lifted Hermione up and walked over to the stairs to the girl's dorms. As a potion baby, spells regarding gender couldn't quiet sense his own genetic structure. Therefore the stairs didn't turn into a slide, as they normally would have, but remained firm for the boy to walk the girl up to her room.

In their own dorms, Harry and Draco waited for Dante before heading into their trunks. They always cleaned up, vigorously after a magical creature kill. There was no telling what the body was caring or what could have entered the body after dealing with a creature with magical blood. After half hour showers they sent their bloody robes through a thorough cleaning and climbed into beds, exhausted.

CHAPTER 9: New and Old

Flaxen hair was in his face when he awoke. Blowing it away, Harry saw that he'd somehow made his way into Draco's bed again that night. It was a common occurrence at the safe house that Harry would end up in the blonde's bed. Nightmares would drive him there when merely mutilating himself no longer worked. He guessed seeing such carnage, even if it had been their own kill, had dredged up old memories. When the hair landed on his face again Harry took his own head out from under Draco's to find that, instead of him crawling into Draco's bed, the boy had slipped into his.

Whatever the boy was going through was bad if he was sneaking into Harry's bed, especially with Dante right beside him. The werewolf teased them mercilessly about such things, not understanding the brotherly bond between them.

Harry slid out from under his friend and looked at him a bit worried. Then he spotted the calendar near Draco's head and flipped out. That morning was the morning of the first Qudditch game. Harry felt his stomach curled on itself. He scrambled around his bed slipping on stray clothes they'd stripped of the night before and fell on his face, waking Draco as he rushed to his feet and into the bathroom.

He smiled and cuddled into his bed only to rip out of it when he heard the sound of dry heaving. Dante was at the door before Draco had left his bed, having heard it to, not bothering with stealth, waking most of the boys. Dean and Shamus where too whipped to get out of their beds but Neville sidled over.

"Harry!" Draco slammed on the door when he found it locked.

"Harry James Potter I'm respecting you privacy but asserting my power as you brother by coming in anyway!" Draco hollered earning a small smile from Ron who had joined Neville at the door. With a nod from Draco, Dante snapped the lock on the door and pushed on it, breaking the magical locks as well, a nifty trick they'd all learned, however only Dante could do it without hurting himself physically.

Harry was inside splashing water on his face, soaking his baggy sleep shirt. Draco smiled at him from in the mirror. "Scared Scar-head?" He chuckled, his worry turning into mirth. Harry shot him a glare then followed him out. He looked out his window into the blue sky, seeing a couple clouds drifting through the endless expanse of blue. He'd always admired the sky. It was so open, so free and so changing. It could storm, angry with the world, attempting to wash it away and start anew. Other times it could simply cry for it, forgiving the earth and helping it grow. It could burry the land in cold snow, abandoning it, then warm it up with the tender rays of spring only to fry the crap out of it in the coming summer. Then fall would roll around and the earth would repent.

The sky controlled everything. The sky was power and Harry longed to dwell as close to the power as he could, even dabble in it if possible. He supposed that's way three out of his five forms were birds. As changing as the sky his animagius forms represented him.

Draco watched Harry as he stared out of the window at the sky. He'd always been a fan of the earth, strong enough to with hold the attacks on it by the sky and proud enough to repent when it had wronged. He supposed that's why he only had one bird form out of his four, while the others were all four-legged land-walkers. He loved to watch Harry light up like he was now, just looking into the vast beyond. Another reason Draco liked the earth, while it was big, there where limits, where as the sky seemed endless.

Sighing the blond pulled on a red t-shirt with Potter and the number seven in gold letters on the back. He laughed at Harry's expression when the boy turned a sour yet surprised face at the shirt.

"Dante and I made them. Sold enough to buy a broom." He laughed as Harry blushed and slipped into his robes for the game. They decided to skip the usual morning's practice for just relaxing and enjoying the thrill of the game to come, or in Harry's case, the dread.

Half the Gryffindor table was wearing the red and gold shirts, though the names and numbers varied so that each player had a large number of supporters. Ron had some how managed to get all three shirts, his brothers' and Harry's, on so they messed together in a blend of red and gold. "Hermione did it." He explained as Harry looked at him overwhelmed. Dante started laughing and smiled at the bushy haired girl, who blushed in response. Dante hugged her to her side and smiled down at her.

Harry left with the rest of the team, all of whom where amused by his brother's t-shirts, to the Quidditch field. The others hadn't changed yet as their uniforms where in the locker room, but Harry had changed in the dorms like he always did, with no one near to see him.

Harry was painfully aware of his body. Sometimes it was more of a problem to him than his eye. Though he was physically as strong as any other boy his size, he was painfully small and scrawny with scars mapping out old stories he never wanted to tell. To the day even Sirius didn't know the extent of the scars, and Harry vowed that no one would. So he had changed a head of time, not worried by the possibility of spilling food on them as he had refused to eat, for fear of it coming back up for a second viewing.

Harry waited for the team on the pitch, the hair, normally in front of his magical eye, tucked behind his ears so that he could see all of the pitch. While he could see fine without the removal of the hair, it made him feel better about it. He was scanning the pitch when he spotted the big black dog with a very familiar looking fox, and snake all three watching him with teasing looks. His magical eye saw them for who they were, not that he need the aid to recognize Padfoot, Sly, and Stealth. Remus Lupin made his way from behind the stands and his aunt walked around the corner carrying the small Evangeline, looking no older than seven in the witch's strong hold instead of her actual ten years of age. Harry ran over as soon as he saw his aunt smile.

"What are you guys doing here?" he cried as Eva flew ten feet into Harry's arms. "HARRY!" She cried laughing happily. "Hey Eva, how's life at home? Did you get my letter?"

Eva nodded comically, her big midnight black eyes peering out at him from under her fringe of starry blond hair in such a childish manner Harry had to hug her again. Eva was the typical shorty, cute and adorable. Even Narcissa, famous for her tongue-lashings, found it hard to scold the girl when she turned that small, angelic face up at the right angle. Because of this unfair advantage, she was the worst troublemaker the world had ever seen.

Weary of this fact Harry set her down hugging his uncle and aunt. By the time they'd finished catching up, Remus explaining that they'd come to see how Harry did in his first game. Sirius stood on his back legs, his front paws on Harry's shoulder in a mock hug as Evangeline hung her father's snake form around her neck so the black and silver snake could see everything from the air. Narcissa herself cleaned her white paws in a dignified manner.

The team called to Harry and he quickly waved bye. The three took places in the teachers' stands as the students began filling up the stadium. Harry rejoined the team in the changing tent. He smiled when Wood's speech was interrupted by a loud cry of joy and screeching bang. Looking outside the team saw Dante launch himself after the flying Draco with a high jump into the stands to hug Remus and Bella. Harry laughed soon joined in by Fred and Gorge shortly followed by the rest of the team.

With time wasted Wood was unable to finish his speech and Harry climbed into the sky with his linger words of "I don't really know. Took a bludger to the head. Woke up in the hospital a week later." Ringing in her ears. He sighed and looked around the field at the faces, dotted in the crowds with their house colors.

He took of in a tight turn and swooped down low drawing the attention of the other team's seeker. He chased after Harry's air with a passion. Harry half listened to Lee and half listened to the rush of air alerting him to the other seekers position. He continued to search laughing at Lee's comments until a familiar pull came over him. He pulled the most amazing stop, halting almost the second the instinct hit him.

The Slytharin seeker swerved around him as Harry shot straight up into the air making a parallel line that by all rights should have had him slipping off the tail of his broom. Raising up his arm in long straight line, Harry brushed his fingers over the gold ball before he was slammed out of his upward rise, sending him spiraling back down to the earth. He caught himself mid-turn and shot back to the Slytharin seeker.

Lee was making fast commentary on the epic battle for the snitch now, the twenty points scored by Gryffindor left in the dust. When they scored again, Lee didn't even bother to announce the new score. Instead he picked up with the seekers.

"It appears Potter has inherited more than just his father's looks. This boy can fly! Both seekers are in a mad dash around the pitch for the snitch. Neither seems to be gaining any head, Potter because Higgs is pushing him off coarse and Higgs because he's slower than those Slinkers Professor Kettleburn showed us in COMC yesterday." The stands erupted in laughter.

Harry was about to make another dive for the snitch when he felt his broom wrench beneath his fingers. He spiraled backwards following the course of the jerk leaning so his weight tilted him in the direction of the snitch. Another wild jerk sent him spinning off coarse. With quick calculating Harry pulled up a read out of the pitch his eye sweeping the field quickly. Magical aura was being actively used by both Snape and Quirll. Neither was blinking.

Fleeing the jinx, Harry used the next jerk of the broom to race up till his back was in the center of the sun. Both men turned away from him. Closing his bad eye he closed down all his charts wanting to win fair and square. In the mean time Slytharin had caught up in points forcing Harry to catch the snitch before Higgs. He spotted it by sheer luck. He was letting his eyes wander, becoming more intoned with the winds around him when he heard the fluttering beets of the snitch's wigs against the goal post on the Slytharin end. He was so surprised he never moved out of the sun. Then he saw Higgs. Higgs saw the Snitch to. Before he could react, Harry was rocketing all the way across the field, air pushing him closer as they seemed to blow Higgs back.

He was flat against his broom in a steep dive so closed to the ground he had to arch his back and push with his feet to straighten himself out. He was standing on the broom when it gave its wrench. He placed his feet accordingly just in time to go sailing. He was flying through the air, over five feet. He gave a final push before falling to the ground, hand clutched around his stomach.

The crowd gasped and jumped to its feet in collective unison, the gasp from the Slytharins coming from their expectation of carnage. Harry knelt down and coughed out the shinning gold ball and raised it high to startled laughter. The whole stands were in hysterics. Gryffindor had one by a great number of points. Harry was ushered off the field amidst gales of laughter and happy Gryffindor faces. Dante and his fathers hung back with Draco and his mother and aunt, uncle and cousin. Ron and Hermione stood beside them smiling.

Harry made his way from the crowd to his family and laughed when Sirius jumped him. "That has got to be the most hilarious catch in the history of Hogwarts." Ron laughed as Draco simply folded over himself with mirth. Hermione was beaming from next to Dante who was tucked neatly under his alpha's arm as the old wolf laughed with Draco, though not nearly as wildly.

"You're going to be the talk of the Quidditch world for years mate!" Bella laughed at her young friend as Evangeline jumped into Harry's arms making his scowl disappear. Laughing lightly she smiled up at Harry he black eyes connecting with his green ones. "I saw you connect up there. Is that really fair?" She giggled. Harry blushed. They started walking when Hagrid spotted them.

"Remus?" He asked. "Remus Lupin?" Remus smiled and rushed to Hagrid. "Hagrid, old friend."

"What are you doing here?" Hagrid cried happily.

"Came to see my favorite seeker in his first game." Remus ruffled Harry's hair as the boy moved Evangeline from one hip to the other in order to retaliate. She looked up at Hagrid with big dark eyes, as friendly and open as the man's owns.

He reached down and took the child from Harry.

"Hagrid! Don't you dare put my daughter on the hippogriff pen again!" Bella warned in her way of a friendly greeting as she made her way over from where she'd been talking to Ron and Hermione.

"Bella, this can't be you little gal." Hagrid smiled teasing the alumni. She smiled. "Don't let her fool you. She's a devious little thing." Hagrid looked down at Evangeline's wide smile and innocent eyes, her blond hair pooling about his arm, it's soft strands deterring any thoughts of malice behind her face from coming to mind.

They followed Hagrid into his backyard, enjoying tea as Harry played fetch with Padfoot and Sly. Draco joined in now and again when he wasn't listening to stories about his parents or running over to the lake were Eva was antagonizing the squid. Ron and Hermione introduced themselves to Remus and Bella, unconsciously to Sirius, Regulus and Narcissa as well. Remus seemed intent on holding his pup as much as he could, the separation becoming a bit much on both of them. Dante however, made sure he was sitting next to Hermione so that he could talk to her while in his father's arms.

"Are you going to tell him?" Draco asked Harry.

After lobbing the stick into the lake, where Padfoot and Sly had to work to get it from the squid, Harry turned to Draco.

"About the troll?"

"No, they don't need to know. We killed it cleanly and purified ourselves completely. No harm no foul." He sat down with the blond watching as their respective guardians attempted to get the squid to throw the stick through as series of yaps and barks.

"Are you going to tell them about the dog?" Draco asked after a while. Harry looked at the happy smile on Remus's face as he laughed at some old memory, stroking his lover's fur after the mutt had given up on the stick and sat beside him. "No, but I'll see if they know anything."

Reaching out with his wispy fingers, Harry slid through the adults barriers. The only person's he'd been unable to brake through was Snape's and Quirrl's. Snape was a master but Quirll was an oddity. He easily wormed his fingers through their minds looking. On a whim, after he'd finished the others, Harry went for Hagrid's. After a while of trudging through the messy heap the man called a mind, Harry found the dog. "The name is Fluffy." Harry started with a laugh. Draco looked at him incredulously.

"It belonged to Hagrid. He's used to help guard something. Something to do with Dumbeldore and a man named Nicolas Flamel. But his mind is so cluttered I can't find what it is." Harry explained. Draco nodded.

"Then we'll just have to look for Flamel."


	10. Chapter 9: New and Old

CHAPTER 9: New and Old

Flaxen hair was in his face when he awoke. Blowing it away, Harry saw that he'd somehow made his way into Draco's bed again that night. It was a common occurrence at the safe house that Harry would end up in the blonde's bed. Nightmares would drive him there when merely mutilating himself no longer worked. He guessed seeing such carnage, even if it had been their own kill, had dredged up old memories. When the hair landed on his face again Harry took his own head out from under Draco's to find that, instead of him crawling into Draco's bed, the boy had slipped into his.

Whatever the boy was going through was bad if he was sneaking into Harry's bed, especially with Dante right beside him. The werewolf teased them mercilessly about such things, not understanding the brotherly bond between them.

Harry slid out from under his friend and looked at him a bit worried. Then he spotted the calendar near Draco's head and flipped out. That morning was the morning of the first Qudditch game. Harry felt his stomach curled on itself. He scrambled around his bed slipping on stray clothes they'd stripped of the night before and fell on his face, waking Draco as he rushed to his feet and into the bathroom.

He smiled and cuddled into his bed only to rip out of it when he heard the sound of dry heaving. Dante was at the door before Draco had left his bed, having heard it to, not bothering with stealth, waking most of the boys. Dean and Shamus where too whipped to get out of their beds but Neville sidled over.

"Harry!" Draco slammed on the door when he found it locked.

"Harry James Potter I'm respecting you privacy but asserting my power as you brother by coming in anyway!" Draco hollered earning a small smile from Ron who had joined Neville at the door. With a nod from Draco, Dante snapped the lock on the door and pushed on it, breaking the magical locks as well, a nifty trick they'd all learned, however only Dante could do it without hurting himself physically.

Harry was inside splashing water on his face, soaking his baggy sleep shirt. Draco smiled at him from in the mirror. "Scared Scar-head?" He chuckled, his worry turning into mirth. Harry shot him a glare then followed him out. He looked out his window into the blue sky, seeing a couple clouds drifting through the endless expanse of blue. He'd always admired the sky. It was so open, so free and so changing. It could storm, angry with the world, attempting to wash it away and start anew. Other times it could simply cry for it, forgiving the earth and helping it grow. It could burry the land in cold snow, abandoning it, then warm it up with the tender rays of spring only to fry the crap out of it in the coming summer. Then fall would roll around and the earth would repent.

The sky controlled everything. The sky was power and Harry longed to dwell as close to the power as he could, even dabble in it if possible. He supposed that's way three out of his five forms were birds. As changing as the sky his animagius forms represented him.

Draco watched Harry as he stared out of the window at the sky. He'd always been a fan of the earth, strong enough to with hold the attacks on it by the sky and proud enough to repent when it had wronged. He supposed that's why he only had one bird form out of his four, while the others were all four-legged land-walkers. He loved to watch Harry light up like he was now, just looking into the vast beyond. Another reason Draco liked the earth, while it was big, there where limits, where as the sky seemed endless.

Sighing the blond pulled on a red t-shirt with Potter and the number seven in gold letters on the back. He laughed at Harry's expression when the boy turned a sour yet surprised face at the shirt.

"Dante and I made them. Sold enough to buy a broom." He laughed as Harry blushed and slipped into his robes for the game. They decided to skip the usual morning's practice for just relaxing and enjoying the thrill of the game to come, or in Harry's case, the dread.

Half the Gryffindor table was wearing the red and gold shirts, though the names and numbers varied so that each player had a large number of supporters. Ron had some how managed to get all three shirts, his brothers' and Harry's, on so they messed together in a blend of red and gold. "Hermione did it." He explained as Harry looked at him overwhelmed. Dante started laughing and smiled at the bushy haired girl, who blushed in response. Dante hugged her to her side and smiled down at her.

Harry left with the rest of the team, all of whom where amused by his brother's t-shirts, to the Quidditch field. The others hadn't changed yet as their uniforms where in the locker room, but Harry had changed in the dorms like he always did, with no one near to see him.

Harry was painfully aware of his body. Sometimes it was more of a problem to him than his eye. Though he was physically as strong as any other boy his size, he was painfully small and scrawny with scars mapping out old stories he never wanted to tell. To the day even Sirius didn't know the extent of the scars, and Harry vowed that no one would. So he had changed a head of time, not worried by the possibility of spilling food on them as he had refused to eat, for fear of it coming back up for a second viewing.

Harry waited for the team on the pitch, the hair, normally in front of his magical eye, tucked behind his ears so that he could see all of the pitch. While he could see fine without the removal of the hair, it made him feel better about it. He was scanning the pitch when he spotted the big black dog with a very familiar looking fox, and snake all three watching him with teasing looks. His magical eye saw them for who they were, not that he need the aid to recognize Padfoot, Sly, and Stealth. Remus Lupin made his way from behind the stands and his aunt walked around the corner carrying the small Evangeline, looking no older than seven in the witch's strong hold instead of her actual ten years of age. Harry ran over as soon as he saw his aunt smile.

"What are you guys doing here?" he cried as Eva flew ten feet into Harry's arms. "HARRY!" She cried laughing happily. "Hey Eva, how's life at home? Did you get my letter?"

Eva nodded comically, her big midnight black eyes peering out at him from under her fringe of starry blond hair in such a childish manner Harry had to hug her again. Eva was the typical shorty, cute and adorable. Even Narcissa, famous for her tongue-lashings, found it hard to scold the girl when she turned that small, angelic face up at the right angle. Because of this unfair advantage, she was the worst troublemaker the world had ever seen.

Weary of this fact Harry set her down hugging his uncle and aunt. By the time they'd finished catching up, Remus explaining that they'd come to see how Harry did in his first game. Sirius stood on his back legs, his front paws on Harry's shoulder in a mock hug as Evangeline hung her father's snake form around her neck so the black and silver snake could see everything from the air. Narcissa herself cleaned her white paws in a dignified manner.

The team called to Harry and he quickly waved bye. The three took places in the teachers' stands as the students began filling up the stadium. Harry rejoined the team in the changing tent. He smiled when Wood's speech was interrupted by a loud cry of joy and screeching bang. Looking outside the team saw Dante launch himself after the flying Draco with a high jump into the stands to hug Remus and Bella. Harry laughed soon joined in by Fred and Gorge shortly followed by the rest of the team.

With time wasted Wood was unable to finish his speech and Harry climbed into the sky with his linger words of "I don't really know. Took a bludger to the head. Woke up in the hospital a week later." Ringing in her ears. He sighed and looked around the field at the faces, dotted in the crowds with their house colors.

He took of in a tight turn and swooped down low drawing the attention of the other team's seeker. He chased after Harry's air with a passion. Harry half listened to Lee and half listened to the rush of air alerting him to the other seekers position. He continued to search laughing at Lee's comments until a familiar pull came over him. He pulled the most amazing stop, halting almost the second the instinct hit him.

The Slytharin seeker swerved around him as Harry shot straight up into the air making a parallel line that by all rights should have had him slipping off the tail of his broom. Raising up his arm in long straight line, Harry brushed his fingers over the gold ball before he was slammed out of his upward rise, sending him spiraling back down to the earth. He caught himself mid-turn and shot back to the Slytharin seeker.

Lee was making fast commentary on the epic battle for the snitch now, the twenty points scored by Gryffindor left in the dust. When they scored again, Lee didn't even bother to announce the new score. Instead he picked up with the seekers.

"It appears Potter has inherited more than just his father's looks. This boy can fly! Both seekers are in a mad dash around the pitch for the snitch. Neither seems to be gaining any head, Potter because Higgs is pushing him off coarse and Higgs because he's slower than those Slinkers Professor Kettleburn showed us in COMC yesterday." The stands erupted in laughter.

Harry was about to make another dive for the snitch when he felt his broom wrench beneath his fingers. He spiraled backwards following the course of the jerk leaning so his weight tilted him in the direction of the snitch. Another wild jerk sent him spinning off coarse. With quick calculating Harry pulled up a read out of the pitch his eye sweeping the field quickly. Magical aura was being actively used by both Snape and Quirll. Neither was blinking.

Fleeing the jinx, Harry used the next jerk of the broom to race up till his back was in the center of the sun. Both men turned away from him. Closing his bad eye he closed down all his charts wanting to win fair and square. In the mean time Slytharin had caught up in points forcing Harry to catch the snitch before Higgs. He spotted it by sheer luck. He was letting his eyes wander, becoming more intoned with the winds around him when he heard the fluttering beets of the snitch's wigs against the goal post on the Slytharin end. He was so surprised he never moved out of the sun. Then he saw Higgs. Higgs saw the Snitch to. Before he could react, Harry was rocketing all the way across the field, air pushing him closer as they seemed to blow Higgs back.

He was flat against his broom in a steep dive so closed to the ground he had to arch his back and push with his feet to straighten himself out. He was standing on the broom when it gave its wrench. He placed his feet accordingly just in time to go sailing. He was flying through the air, over five feet. He gave a final push before falling to the ground, hand clutched around his stomach.

The crowd gasped and jumped to its feet in collective unison, the gasp from the Slytharins coming from their expectation of carnage. Harry knelt down and coughed out the shinning gold ball and raised it high to startled laughter. The whole stands were in hysterics. Gryffindor had one by a great number of points. Harry was ushered off the field amidst gales of laughter and happy Gryffindor faces. Dante and his fathers hung back with Draco and his mother and aunt, uncle and cousin. Ron and Hermione stood beside them smiling.

Harry made his way from the crowd to his family and laughed when Sirius jumped him. "That has got to be the most hilarious catch in the history of Hogwarts." Ron laughed as Draco simply folded over himself with mirth. Hermione was beaming from next to Dante who was tucked neatly under his alpha's arm as the old wolf laughed with Draco, though not nearly as wildly.

"You're going to be the talk of the Quidditch world for years mate!" Bella laughed at her young friend as Evangeline jumped into Harry's arms making his scowl disappear. Laughing lightly she smiled up at Harry he black eyes connecting with his green ones. "I saw you connect up there. Is that really fair?" She giggled. Harry blushed. They started walking when Hagrid spotted them.

"Remus?" He asked. "Remus Lupin?" Remus smiled and rushed to Hagrid. "Hagrid, old friend."

"What are you doing here?" Hagrid cried happily.

"Came to see my favorite seeker in his first game." Remus ruffled Harry's hair as the boy moved Evangeline from one hip to the other in order to retaliate. She looked up at Hagrid with big dark eyes, as friendly and open as the man's owns.

He reached down and took the child from Harry.

"Hagrid! Don't you dare put my daughter on the hippogriff pen again!" Bella warned in her way of a friendly greeting as she made her way over from where she'd been talking to Ron and Hermione.

"Bella, this can't be you little gal." Hagrid smiled teasing the alumni. She smiled. "Don't let her fool you. She's a devious little thing." Hagrid looked down at Evangeline's wide smile and innocent eyes, her blond hair pooling about his arm, it's soft strands deterring any thoughts of malice behind her face from coming to mind.

They followed Hagrid into his backyard, enjoying tea as Harry played fetch with Padfoot and Sly. Draco joined in now and again when he wasn't listening to stories about his parents or running over to the lake were Eva was antagonizing the squid. Ron and Hermione introduced themselves to Remus and Bella, unconsciously to Sirius, Regulus and Narcissa as well. Remus seemed intent on holding his pup as much as he could, the separation becoming a bit much on both of them. Dante however, made sure he was sitting next to Hermione so that he could talk to her while in his father's arms.

"Are you going to tell him?" Draco asked Harry.

After lobbing the stick into the lake, where Padfoot and Sly had to work to get it from the squid, Harry turned to Draco.

"About the troll?"

"No, they don't need to know. We killed it cleanly and purified ourselves completely. No harm no foul." He sat down with the blond watching as their respective guardians attempted to get the squid to throw the stick through as series of yaps and barks.

"Are you going to tell them about the dog?" Draco asked after a while. Harry looked at the happy smile on Remus's face as he laughed at some old memory, stroking his lover's fur after the mutt had given up on the stick and sat beside him. "No, but I'll see if they know anything."

Reaching out with his wispy fingers, Harry slid through the adults barriers. The only person's he'd been unable to brake through was Snape's and Quirrl's. Snape was a master but Quirll was an oddity. He easily wormed his fingers through their minds looking. On a whim, after he'd finished the others, Harry went for Hagrid's. After a while of trudging through the messy heap the man called a mind, Harry found the dog. "The name is Fluffy." Harry started with a laugh. Draco looked at him incredulously.

"It belonged to Hagrid. He's used to help guard something. Something to do with Dumbeldore and a man named Nicolas Flamel. But his mind is so cluttered I can't find what it is." Harry explained. Draco nodded.

"Then we'll just have to look for Flamel."


	11. Chapter 10: Findings

CHAPTER 10: Findings

The cold November winds traded themselves in for the slushy rain of December and snow began to pile up on the grounds, shilling the castle and all its inhabitance. Harry was miserably moving through his class. He loathed winter with a passion. It all came down to his lack of immune system. After so long of being malnourished by his relatives, he'd had a weak one and since he could remember, had been sick at lest once every winter.

They had stopped all practices, ticking off their familiars despite their reasons. There simply wasn't enough space in the Common Room without it being filled for the three to practice and there was no way they were going to risk fighting in an empty classroom. The lack of usual routines was throwing Harry for a loop. He lived of routine, on of the main reasons they continued with the lessons.

It wasn't too bad though. He'd be going home for Christmas, where he could be sick in his own bed with people who had early on explained it was okay. It wasn't too bad until they were put on castle arrest.

One morning, Dante found a tracker on Hedwig. Luckily they hadn't been using her for long trips to the house, only for short communiqués with Hagrid. After that moment the kids decided they couldn't go home for Christmas. They were being watched after Remus's performance at the match.

They were busying themselves with looking up anything they could about Flamel, telling Ron and Hermione it was a project they had to do. Eventually, when they continued to turn up nothing, Hermione began to suspect them.

"What teacher would assign a project, even an extra credit one, where there was no information on the subject?" She asked hysterically one day only a day before brake.

Dante turned pleading eyes to his "brothers". They looked at each other, trading a nonexistent conversation through their looks. "Fine." Draco grumbled having lost the argument. Harry nodded to Dante who, proceeded to explain everything from the dog to how they'd heard someone mention Flamel. The last part was a lie, but they didn't want to freak their new friends out with too much of their power.

After that, Hermione renewed her search with a particular violence that led Harry to the belief that it wasn't just the information that fueled her search, nor was it he desperation to prove that books would never fail her. She was constantly looking up at Dante and this made Harry smile so broadly, he was still doing it as they trudged out to Herbology to help their professor secure the green houses.

They were walking in, dripping wet after being soaked in the sleety snow that had renewed its vigorous down pour when Hermione had her epiphany. "The Restricted Section." She breathed, stopping dead so that Dante ran into her, catching her with his lightning fast reflexes.

"We haven't checked there." Ron quipped.

"But you need a specially signed note." Draco stomped out the idea.

"Not if you go in at night, during the holidays." Hermione offered up.

Draco looked thoughtful while Ron and Dante exchanged looks that clearly said "We've rubbed off on her."

Harry… well Harry sneezed.

Groaning he made his way up to the Common Room and quickly changed out of his sodden clothes and into a clean, warm, black turtle neck with loose denim jeans, adding an extra pair of socks to the ensemble, knowing it wouldn't do anything, but it never hurt to try. Vexation mewed annoying things in his ear, the whole way.

The holidays rolled around Hermione-less but toasty. The first year boys had the Common Room to themselves with the exception of the twins and Percy who had stayed when their parents went off to visit Ron's brother Charlie in Romania.

As per usual, Harry was miserable and sick, and even more so now that he had to be in school. However, Draco and Dante had taken it upon themselves to fill in for Remus and Sirius by taking up their rolls. Draco fused as Sirius might and Dante bashed him over the head with a wooden spoon, telling him to get a grip and it was only a little cold not leukemia, at which point Draco stopped rubbing his head and asked what leukemia was.

Ron had a good time laughing at them all.

They spent most of their time in front of the fire with marshmallows roasting along with English muffins, toast, anything that could stay on a toasting fork. They regaled each other with funny tales of blackmailable events preformed by others in the room. Harry played chess with Ron and Dante, Draco being otherwise occupied with his knives, claming he was out of shape, but refusing to duel Harry when the boy offered, claming that he was too ill to match the blonde's level, at which point Harry pinned him to the wall with a threatening looking Blood Magic dagger.

Christmas finally rolled around and, to Harry's delight he was no longer ailing and able to give Draco the beating he deserved. Christmas morning was a happy affair, only smothered by the fact Harry slept in till eleven, with no one willing to wake the teen, knowing he was always battle ready in his sleep, able to kick a Death Eater's ass up and down a dueling field before he opened his bleary eyes. Dante refused to let anyone, including Fred, George and Percy, open their presents till the boy woke, enjoying the bit of tradition they'd managed to retain.

Because the ministry was watching their owls, Harry's family had been unable to send their present over by owl, however that didn't stop them from using Cinders the family house elf. The she-elf popped into the Common Room with piles of presents to the delighted cries of the three boys who wished her a marry Christmas, gave her letters and parcels to take back to the house and asked her to drop by sometimes to visit.

All four boys were ripping into their gifts greedily

First were Draco's presents to everyone. The war-pron fighter had a very warlike theme to his gifts. He gave Dante a pair of fang like knives, the tips curving, much like sickles with a more dramatic curve, so they could cut and rip at the same time. Harry got a double edge sword, silver and green strands of a sparkly looking magic ran through tubes that spiraled around the handle and led down to the blade itself. "Poison," Harry whispered happily. Draco smiled as Harry hugged him. He gave Ron a book to help him in potions class, explaining how you read potions instructions and how to correct simple mistakes. Draco had even given the Weasley twins a book of muggle pranks. Both were overjoyed by the ideas that could be magically altered for ten times the fun.

Next were Dante's gifts. He also had a theme to his gifts, though his was much more physical. He gave Draco a set of weights that could be set to very strengths in mid-workout, increasing the boy's adaptability to a change in force quickly. He gave Harry a small robotic dumb to spar with, one designed to fight back. He gave Ron a basics book on hand-to-hand and a promise of lessons. To the twins, Dante added his own two-cents to the pranking mayhem. He gave them A Wizards Guide to Pranking the Unprankable, written by his fathers and Harry's.

Harry's gifts were more widely spread, suiting each member equally. He gave Draco a belt that could be used to hold potions safely while still effectively allowing the wearer to go about as usual without the potions being seen or damaged. To Dante he gave a set of body weights that could be worn at all times to increase the body's strength. To Ron, Harry gave a new chess sat with players designed after Hogwarts students, Ron as the king. The boy was so ecstatic he challenged everyone to a match on the spot. The twins got a small basket of half finished ideas Harry had been unable to finish, which they began to tinker with immediately.

Ron's gifts tagged along with the twins, all of which were simple but well thought out. Draco got a new pair of boats made of Dragon hide straight from their brother in Romania. Dante got a few books on different types of hand-to-hand and multiple-on-one battle techniques. Harry got a gun that Mr.Weasley had confiscated, which could be transformed into any weapon at a simple thought.

Needless to say, everyone was thrilled. After sharing their gifts with each other, they moved onto the gifts from the family. All three boys got new cloaks with shielding spells weaved into the cloth as well as new sets of daggers and cleaning supplies. Ron and his brothers got their usual sweater and treats, which all the boys shared as they lounged about the Common Room.

After a bit, they got bored and went outside for a furious snowball fight from which they came soaked back into the Common Room to dry off in front of the fire before dinner. That dinner was a happy affair, with one long table that contained all the students and teachers that had stayed behind. They had Wizards crackers and noise makers and tons of food. Harry was pleasantly satisfied and had begun to smile his genuine smile instead of the forced grin he'd adopted.

After dinner they all traipsed up stairs to the Common Room, wondering what to do with themselves now.

"I know, let's play Truth or Dare!" Draco cried. "Muraduer style!" Harry and Dante cried in unison making the others laugh while Ron, Fred and George sported slightly confused looks, Ron because he had no idea who the Maruaders where and the twins because they didn't know how these three could know about the Maruaders.

"Alright everyone in a circle." Draco called. Ron sat nearest the couch only to move when he felt himself sit on something. Under him where two plainly wrapped gifts. Both addressed to Harry. "Hey Harry it looks like you missed some." He smiled tossing them over. Harry opened to first one from Hagrid and smiled and the whittled flute. He blew into it, making the sound similar to Hedwig's hoot.

As he ripped into the other, Vexation padded down the stairs.

Prodigy! he mewed.

Harry looked up and motioned for Vex to join him. What no Merry Christams?

Save it. I did in enjoy the Christmas mouse however, thank you.

Harry nodded.

Whatcha got there? Vexation asked reaching out with a claw to tare the paper with his claws. All the boys laughed at Harry's familiar.

It's a gift, but it doesn't say from whom. He answered finishing the unwrapping for the impatient familiar.

It's from Dumbeldore. I'd know that aura anywhere, it's all over the bloody school. Vex grunted.

Harry hauled out the long cloak to a gasp. Everyone recognized it instantly for what it was. That's one impressive invisibility cloak he sent you. Vex purred.

"Your father left this in my possession before he died. Use it well." Ron read the letter that came sailing out.

"Use it well?" Draco parroted.

"Well it's obviously for pranks so I suggest that our young friend here, take first turn at a dare." Fred voiced. A general murmur of approval greeted this. Harry nodded and put Vexation in Draco's lap, where the boy began to stroke the kitten.

"What do you want me to do?" He asked slipping the cloak on.

"Go down to Filches office and nick all the stuff out of his 'Highly Dangerous' cabinet." George assigned. "Then use each one you can figure out on him or any other teacher you see." Fred finished. Draco smiled evilly and Dante steepled his fingers. Ron laughed at the look on Harry's disembodied head.

Pulling the cloak over his head he pulled out a mirror. Draco pulled out its brother and Harry winked.

"The mirror is trained to follow the person and will replay their image into this one." Draco said enlarging his own mirror so the boys all had a big screen TV like view of Harry sneaking along the halls, Vexation quietly ridding shotgun in the teen's pocket. He got into the office fine, unlocked the cabinet easily and grabbed everything quickly making his way up the castle.

He used an odd looking device on Filtch that turned him a few funny colors, making him light up like a stop sign when he realized what had happened. Another sent Mrs. Norise flying through a window like someone had kicked her out it. A third had Peeves doing the polka in mid air while a fourth had all the suits of armor falling in love with Madam Pomfery and chasing her all over she school. Harry sniggered quietly making his way up through a secret passage way. He came out in the unfortunate position right between Snape and Quirll who where having an interesting talk.

"It's time for you to decide where you loyalties lie." Snape hissed. Harry so stunned he dropped the last two devices dashed away when Snape let out a furious bellow when his nose began to elongate and curl upwards, Quirll seemed to be immune to the effects but Harry didn't stick around to see if it was simply a delayed reaction. He ran for his life swinging around doors and through halls till he scampered into a slightly closed door. Snap bellowed past and Harry let out a breath just to take it in again as he looked about his room.

There was a large mirror dead center of the room. Walking up to it Harry glanced inside and stumbled back when he spotted himself inside it. What he saw around him shocked him so much he reeled back and doubled over. Reeling around, he looked to see if they were actually there before returning to staring into the mirror.

Harry stood their, much older with his arm around an older looking Draco and Dante all three standing in the remaining carnage of a familiar house. They were smiling brightly and Draco even kissed Harry's cheek, but the scene was confused. They stood over the burred and bloody bodies of his relatives, all of them dead in the rubble of their prized house.

LOOK AWAY PRODIGY! Vexation hissed.

Harry wrenched his eyes away but it was too late. The image was ingrained in his mind. Harry thought he was going to be sick. Hardly wanting to look again he found that the image was like a car wreck, as much as he didn't want to look again, he just had to. He glanced at the mirror again, searching the image for something he had missed when he spotted two shadowy figures of his parents patting him on the shoulder as they stomped on the Dursleys' souls.

Harry really was going to be sick when he heard a voice behind him.

"I see you have found the Mirror of Erised Harry."

Harry jumped so high, so fast that his training kicked in and he drew a pair of daggers from his boats as the invisibility cloak flew off. Dumbeldore was slightly shocked but didn't show it by the look on his face, only the dimming of the twinkle in his eyes.

"Is that what it's called?" Harry asked slipping the daggers back into his boots.

"I have no doubt you've figured out by know what it does." He raised an eyes brow.

"I show not your face but your hearts desire." Harry recited looking to the inscription above the mirror.

Very good Prodigy. Vex beamed.

"Very good, Harry." Dumbeldore parroted, choosing not to say anything about Harry's shaky appearance.

"Sir, what do you see, honestly? Are all desires as far fetched as my own?" Harry asked needing to know that he wasn't the only one who saw himself killing muggles.

"I see my self with a lovely pair of socks." Dumbelore answered. "Every year I get books. But all I really want is a nice pair of socks." Harry sighed, that wasn't what he'd hopped for, he could spot the lie miles away.

"I'll assume you see your parents." Dumbeldore put in. Harry flinched. "In a manner of speaking yes." Harry answered. Dumbeldore looked at him funny. "It's complicated. I'll be going back then sir." Harry said adorning his cloak, stopping all conversation as he left via secret passage Dumbeldore hadn't known was in the room.


	12. Chapter 11: Quidditch, Cure of the Teena

CHAPTER 11: Quidditch, Cure of the Teenaged Boys' Soul

Harry stuck close to himself for the remaining months. Well into February he staid quiet, refusing to tell his friends what he had seen in the mirror. He felt every eye, could sense every muggle born. He pressed himself into shadows more and more often nowadays. Even Vexation, with his sarcastic wit and sharp tongue couldn't rouse his "Prodigy" from out of his funk.

Even when they found Flamel, Harry wasn't really part of their world. They rushed around, sharing comments over the Philosopher's Stone, sharing ideas over what they would do with it if they had it. He ignored his teachers' attempts to talk to him, he ignored Snape's attempts to bait him, he ignored the pounding headaches he got when he was in Quirll's classes. He ignored everything but that one image in his mind's eye.

Often even his regular eye played the imagaes back for him. He began to dream about it, about how it would feel. He began to look at everything in a new light. The one thing that kept him from falling pray to the image was Quidditch.

With Snape refereeing the match and Gryffindor only tailing Slytharin by a few points in the house cup, Harry put all his frustrations in his game. He had Fred and George bet bludgers at him, teaching him how to better dodge the best beaters in the school, easily so that the rest would seem like cake in comparison. He swirled and dived, racing the winds during practice, practicing moves, faints and other tricks. He attacked the snitch with a sort of feral violence that scarred his team a bit but thrilled Wood to no end.

When the game finally rolled around, Wood felt no need to give his team a speech, he just looked at them and said "Let's show Snape he can't frighten us." The all cheered and advanced on the field with a battle like appearance.

"Harry's rubbing off on them." Draco whispered to Dante in the stands.

Dante nodded and looked sadly down at his friend.

"He's so different." He whispered. "There's nothing we can do."

"We can get him to talk." Ron volunteered as the whistle blew and the teams launched into the sky, Harry the fastest and highest of all, streaking around the pitch before the first pass.

"Well have a training session." Dante planned, watching his friend as he rolled away from a bludger.

"He'll fight one of use and the other will question." Draco added, his eyes never leaving the boy.

"He'll crack." Hermione muttered a bit sadly.

"He's tougher than that." Ron assured her.

"Yeah, he'll talk but he won't crack." Dante assured her with a small hug.

"DANTE!" Darco cried. Dante's head ripped away from Hermione to where Harry had gone into a dive straight for Snape after he awarded Hufflepuff a penalty for one of the Gryffindors flying to close to his head. He had barely turned around when Harry shot past him, making him summersault backwards. Everyone laughed thinking Harry had done it as a joke but he flew up, fist in the air, screaming "I've got the snitch!"

Everyone was stunned for a moment or two than erupted in enthusiastic cheering. Draco was loudest, Harry could tell because he felt his heart warm when he heard "That's my boy!" Shouted across the field.

He landed softly, everything driven from his mind, having found peace with the images while focusing all his thoughts into finding the snitch. He had the sky had molded once more into a single entity, the vastness clearing his mind, opening his heart, and when he heard Draco, his was sure he'd only see his family if he were to step in front of the mirror.

Gryffindors were flooding around him. Smiling, thumping him on the back and cheering, they laughed at how he'd handled Snape congratulators mobbed Harry. But through it all he still managed to here, "Nice to see you haven't been brooding about that mirror." He spun around to see Dumbeldore fading back into the crowd. "Old goat." Harry smiled before he was swept away within the sea of Gryffindor supports for what was sure to be a long party.


	13. Chapter 12: Dragons of a Different Sort

CHAPTER 12: Dragons of a Different Sort

The days were passing faster and faster. Before they knew it the exams where only ten week away as Hermione put it.

"You of all people shouldn't be worrying." Dante soothed the frazzled female. "You're best in class. Did you know that?" He asked. She shook her head, stunned. "Yep, Harry's tied with Draco for second. Ron's holding third and Shamus's got fourth. Dean's hanging at fifth. You've got nothing to worry about." He assured her with a hug to seal the deal. She still dragged them off to the library to study.

Harry, bored and tempted by the warming air outside that floated through the windows, was making his and Draco's quill tango across Dante's Hogwarts, A History. Seeing this, Draco added a second couple and he and Harry began to bash them into each other making Ron laugh while Dante and Hermione shared a look saying "children" in a knowing way.

Harry lost the dance off only because he spotted Hagrid shuffling around the shelves.

"Hagrid!" Ron called in a hushed whisper.

"What are you doing here?" Dante asked pleased but surprised to see the large man there.

"Checking out some books. You'll be studying for exams now, won't you? I best be leaving then." He shuffled from the library, awkwardly squeezing through the doors.

"I'll go see what he was looking at." Ron offered, too pleased at the chance to leave the table to let it pass bye.

Harry and Draco began an argument over whether or not Harry had forfeited when Ron slammed a few books down on the quills that were boxing in response to their owners' spat.

"Dragons!" He exclaimed in a hushed whisper. "I found all these books on the table back there." He explained as he revealed Dragon Species of Great Britain and Ireland, From Egg to Inferno, A Dragon Keeper's Guide and a few more. Harry looked up at Draco then Dante who turned to Hermione and then Ron. "You don't think…." Dante started.

"It's something Hagrid would do. He told Uncle Remus that he wanted a Dragon." Draco sighed, head flopping onto his crossed arms. "Not only do we have to watch our own arses, now we have to watch his!"

The five of them made their way down to Hagrid's hut an hour latter, being unable to convince Hermione to leave any earlier. They knocked on his door and heard the usual scrapping as Fang slid into the door, his booming barks resounding through the night.

"'Ello there." He said happily. "Sorry, not quiet in the mood to entertain ternight. Come back again termorrow." He smiled and began to shut the door when Harry shouted, "We know about the Philosopher's Stone!" Looking at him surprised, the rest where just as shocked when the door opened back up for them.

They explained everything they knew, about the brake in, about Fluffy, about the stone and finally about the dragon egg in his fire. Hagrid was more than willing to show his young friends the egg, happy to tell someone his joy. "Hagrid. You can't keep a Norwegian Ridgeback in a _wooden_ house." Hermione cried worried for her oversized friend.

Hagrid did a giant's imitation of a pout. "Well I know that, but…I can't just let 'im go now! Once he hatches and get big enough to take care of himself I send him to Romania to be with other dragons." Harry and Draco shared a look. They left more worried then they were when they first visited the half-giant.

A couple days latter, at breakfast, Dante received a note from Hagrid with two words scrawled crudely across the surface. _It's hatching! _Despite their lessons, all five rushed down to the hut, after persuading Hermione- "How many times are you going to see a dragon hatch?"- they joined Hagrid around his wooden table, the black egg sitting in the middle, large cracks running along the surface already.

"It's nearly out." Hagrid beamed excitedly. A loud cracking noise heralded the arrival of a small lizard like creature as it burst out of the egg and onto the table. It was already fairly big. Worriedly, Harry shared a look with Ron. "Charlie!" Harry suddenly exclaimed shaking Ron.

"Have you finally lost it?" Ron asked a bit nervously. "I'm Ron remember, or is that eye of yours in need of a tune up?" Harry glared at him but let it slide in the heat of the situation. "No, your brother. He takes care of dragons in Romania. He could take it now, and take care of it until it can fend for itself."

"What do you say Hagrid?" Hermione cried hopping the man would say yes. Hagrid seemed to think about it but the color drained from his face and he rushed out the front door making Harry draw his gun while Dante pulled a pair of knives and Draco a sword.

They raced out after him and spotted Balise Zabini running up to the school. "He saw!" Hagrid panicked. "Please say yes." Ron pleaded. Hagrid nodded and the five hurried off to the owelry to send Hedwig with the message to Charlie as quick as they could.

The next week dragged by. They had received Charlie's okay and had arranged for the dragon pickup to occur in the astronomy tower at midnight on Saturday. It was a mark of how bad they wanted the dragon gone that Harry agreed to hall the thing up so many flights of stairs with one other person.

As the date approached Draco and Harry noticed a flaw in the plan. They had originally planned that Dante would accompany Harry up to the astronomy tower to see off the dragon. However, three days before they where going to send the dragon off, Dante landed himself in the hospital wing, having forgotten the full moon the night of the transfer. Meaning that not only could Dante not help Harry but nether could Draco. Harry had to go because Charlie was expecting him. But Draco needed to be with his cousin on the full moon.

Ron was also taken out of the picture by a particularly nasty bit he'd received while helping Hagrid with the stubborn hatchling. He landed himself a bed next to Dante in the hospital wing and the two played chess interrupted only by the occasional potions that were shoved down Ron's throat.

In the end, Harry was climbing the stairs to the top of the astronomy tower on his own. Dante had forbidden him to take Hermione with him. He had been freaked out by the rickety create Hagrid had shown them a well as the fact that the invisibility cloak wouldn't fit quiet right with the bulky cage.

Harry didn't mind doing it on his own. He had time to think and if he messed up no one would get in trouble but him. That's how he found himself wandlessly the disillusioned dragon up the stairs through the shadows he was surfing. The transfer went off without a hitch and Harry even made good friends with Charlie. It was afterwards that the problem started.


	14. Chapter 13: Can or Can't

CHAPTER 13: What a Man Can Do and What He Can't

On his way back down the stairs, Harry nearly ran head first into Zabini.

"Potter!" The boy hissed, having seen him before Harry could sink back into shadow.

"Zabini." Harry replied coolly.

Before Harry could ask him what he wanted, Zabini ha shot a spell at him. It was nonverbal and defiantly above the first year level.

"You not the only on whose been trained to get what they want." Zabini hissed as he took up a fighting stance. Harry drew his own wand, wandlessly summoning his new throwing stars, a present from Regulus, into his hand.

Zabini raised his wand in front of his face in a sort of bow. Harry smirked. "What kind of Death Eater actually follows the rules of engagement?" He mocked throwing a stinging hex at the teen's week shield, breaking it and hitting him with the Ricasempra curse.

Zabini picked himself up and glared at the boy. "One fighting for his engaged." He shot off two spells in quick succession. The first was a more painful version of the body bind that folded your body into an uncomfortable position and held you there, fallowed by and unhealable cutting curse. Harry dodged the first but the second one clipped his shoulder.

Harry grunted in pain but quickly retaliated with throwing stars. Two nicked Zabini, one taking of a slice of ear the other imbedding itself in his leg.

Zabini howled, his tolerance for pain mush less that Harry's.

"You can't keep this up forever!"

He conjured up a fire whip and snapped it. Harry drew a shrunken sword from its holster around his leg. Enlarging it he caught Zabini's first lash and ripped the teen forward, slicing into the teen's neck, just under the jugular. He took advantage of their close proximity and took a few scraps at the boy's face.

Zabini also took advantage of the chance and stabbed Harry in the gut with a small dagger that had sat in a holster around his wrist. Harry made no notice of this, throwing Zabini across the hallway into the wall with a powerful Reducto. He pulled himself out of the wall and striking out with his whip catching Harry's neck, burning it as well as cutting into it.

Harry growled and seized the whip, burning his hand, and flicked him back into his place in the wall again. Zabini clambered out again, but Harry was done messing around. Using his throwing stars he pinned Zabini to the wall confiscated all his weapons.

"I went easy on you this night Zabini. Don't bother me or Draco or Dante or any of my friends again, or I won't be nearly as nice." He took out a small dagger, coated in a mild poison that would make the cut permanent. Brushing away the teen's hair, Harry located the small area just above the right where Death Eaters marked their wins. Harry drew an expertly designed lightning bolt. "Now, you wouldn't think of showing anyone that would you?"

He left Zabini pinned to the wall shouting, "You can't tie me up like this! You bastered!" Harry slid back into the shadows and was passing the entrance hall just as Dante was coming in with Madam Pomfery. Harry jumped into the medi-witch's shadow and road all the way back to the hospital wing.

Once in side he jumped out and took refuge in the shadow of one of the beds. Dante had noticed his arrival and collapsed onto the bed next to Ron, which happened to be Harry's refuge.

"Harry?"

"Yeah. I'm going to need some help cleaning up."

Madam Pomfery laid out the bandages and needles and thread, leaving Dante to clean himself up, knowing the boy preferred it that way. As soon as she was gone Harry climbed out and let his brother look him over.

"Christ Harry! There's no way one dragon could have done all this!" Dante motioned for him to sit down on his bed and take of his shirt. Harry obliged grudgingly and began to explain.

"Merlin Harry. He could have killed you! You can't keep throwing yourself in the way of all these animals." Dante handed the teen a pillow to bite down on as he stitched up the cutting cures marks.

"That which doesn't kill me can only make me stronger. I need more training. I can do so much better than this, so why do I keep faltering? When we get home I'm hitting the dueling coarse. Now that we have wands we can leave our basic wandless magic and move on to elemental magics, Parsalmagics, and alchemy." He replaced the pillow as Dante pulled the sink closer together.

"We can start on some Runes magic here. I know there's a class on it in third year but it can't hurt to get a head start. I think we should start working out in the mornings, you know, one-on-one-on-one hand-to-hand."

Harry nodded and removed the pillow. He took up some of the bandages and wrapped them around his neck and hand. Then he picked up the needle and sewed up Dante. Once both were cleaned up, Harry left Dante and shadow surfed to the Gryffindor Common Room.

Crawling into his bed, Harry wondered if there was anything worse than an aching body and a bruised ego.

The next day he found out there was. It was called Draco's wrath. While he had faced such a demon on many occasions, never after beating up the blonde's engaged over Draco's honor.

"HARRY JAMES POTTER!"

Wincing Harry held his head tighter and tried no to throw up the minimal food he'd managed to force down his bruised throat.

"Draco I love you but you need to shut up." His voice was so quiet that Draco had no chance of hearing him.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU WHERE DOING. YOU CAN'T GO AROUND KNOCKING PEOPLE UP LIKE THAT!"

Harry sighed and began to use sign langue, unable to speak anything else.

'I didn't do it for you. He would have turned me in.'

'You fool. You don't know what you have stepped in the middle of. Look what you've done to yourself.'

Draco stepped forward and brushed the hair away from the teen's magical eye. 'Doesn't this thing help you see the unseeable?'

Harry nodded.

'Then why didn't you see him coming and avoid him?'

'I got tired of seeing him slinking around behind you in the hallways and watching you in bathrooms.'

Draco looked appalled.

'He did that?'

'Yep.'

Draco sat down and cupping Harry's check in his hand.

"You're bruised up and down." He whispered. "How the hell did he manage to get close enough to choke you?"

Harry honestly didn't remember but it hurt enough that he vowed never to let it happen again.

"Come on. We'll see if Severus can do anything to help you."

'As much as I appreciate the thought, he'd more likely poison me.'

"Not if it's for me." Draco smiled.

'Are you sure?'

Draco nodded. He turned to the door and walked out with Harry on his heels. They were lucky that Snape hardly ever at any of the voluntary meals (breakfast and lunch) in the Great Hall.

They headed down to the ground floor and then a few more down to the dungeons. Draco knocked on the door as soon as Harry had tucked himself away in shadow.

"Yes?"

Draco walked in as the door opened for him.

"Hello Godfather." He whispered in a horse voice.

"Draco!"

Harry only just managed to slide through as the door shut behind the blonde.

"What on earth happened to you?"

"A fight. Doesn't matter." He hugged his Godfather. "I realized I hadn't gotten the chance to talk to you most of this month, I wanted to say hello."

Harry was slightly surprised. He hadn't known that Draco was seeing his Godfather in his private chambers no less.

"It's always good to talk to you Draco, but I am late for a meeting with the Zabinis. How about I get you something for those bruises. Before I go, I need to fulfill my duties and reprimand you." He cleared his throat and took up a mocking version of his glare from class, earning a snort from Draco.

"Draconis Malfoy. You cannot go around beating people up unless you are sure you can get out of it without evidence. What were you thinking leaving his memory in tack? And signing your seal? What has come over you, you arrogant child?"

This earned another, more violent snort.

"Thanks Godfather." Draco hugged him and pocketed the balm he was handed. "I'll come and see you again latter." He waved and left, delaying the door's closing with his foot, just long enough for Harry to slip through.

'You're a life savor.' Harry signed, taking the balm offered to him.

Draco took some from the jar and helped Harry cover his wounds.

"Do you have Quidditch practice today?" Draco asked as they walked up to collect Dante from the Hospital wing.

'Yes, but not till later.' Harry answered still signing, waiting for the balm to work. He slumped down suddenly with a sigh that had Draco looking at him worriedly.

"Harry?" He sat down next to the boy.

'I'm tired of stressing myself out with fights I should win in a heartbeat. I wasn't taught to fight to nearly lose to a punk like your ex-boyfriend. I shouldn't be worrying weather or not wanting to kill my uncle is normal.'

"Slow down Harry! I only know slow signing. What was that last part? After the ex-boyfriend comment… which I resent by the way."

'Nothing. It's nothing.'

"Come on Harry. Lets go get Dante." Draco extended a hand but Harry turned it down, hauling himself to his feet.

Madam Pomfery wasn't quite through with the werewolf when they went to collect him. She rewound a few bandages and tutted over the boy until she had nothing else to tidy up. By the time they got out, not only was Dante all patched up but so was Harry. Just in time for Quidditch practice.

Harry limped onto the field, ignoring Wood and the Weasley twins' questions into his health. They practiced late and it was only when Ron and Hermione came to pick him up that Harry realized they had practiced double the amount of time, not because Wood was being a fanatic, but because they were attempting to be understanding off their youngest player.

The moment they'd gotten on the field, Harry had played with week aggression. That wasn't to say that his aggression was week, but that is his aggression was at a high his week body couldn't compete with. He was falling off his broom but still perusing the snitch with a violent passion.

"Harry you need to take it down a notch." Fred called.

"Yeah, you're going to wear your self into the ground." His twin agreed.

Harry growled, clenching his teeth. "I can do it!"

"Harry!" Ron was yelling at him from the stands. Draco was on his feet, Dante resting back with Hermione under his arm. "HARRY! YOU CAN'T DO THIS MUCH LONGER!"

Harry locked his jaw swerved in front of Angelina grabbed the Qufflel.

"I CAN DO IT!" He yelled throwing the ball so hard it made waves of air as it soared through the goal and all the way into the deep parts of the forest. Sighing Harry apologized and flew off to collect the ball.

Swooping down low Harry rummage around the forest looking for the allusive ball. Deeper into the forest he flew until he rammed head first into Hagrid.

"Harry!"

"Sorry Hagrid. I wasn't watching where I was going."

"Its okay Harry, but you best be getting out of the forest. There's summit sneaken round 'ere. Wouldn't want you getten hurt."

"What's wrong Hagrid?"

"Somthin's hurten the unicorns. Drainen them dry." Hagrid said worriedly.

"I'll get out then Hagrid, as soon as I find the Quffle." Harry presided to explain everything that happened from the dragon hand-off to the Quffle.

"Harry, I'd love to talk to you but here's not the right place." He shifted his crossbow to his other shoulder. Harry looked around. "I'm just going to find it real quick then I'll take it and myself out." He took off again ignoring Hagrid's call of "Harry! No! You can't do that!"

I'm getting sick and tired of people telling me what I can and can't do.

He landed a little ways away in a tangle of trees and roots. He had spotted something red under the thick layers of trees there. He padded through the thick forest trail looking up at the canopy.

Harry Potter

Harry stopped dead.

I've been waiting for you, Harry Potter.

He spun around looking back and forth.

I've been watching you Harry Potter! You've sparked my interest!

Harry zeroed in on the voice. It was coming from a deep pit, held up by roots that laced the walls. In the center there was a hooded figure in a black cloak, bent over the most beautiful, yet horrible thing Harry had ever seen. A unicorn, silvery white and sparkling less and less as the seconds ticked by, blood oozing out from its neck where the creature had cupped its lips around an open wound.

I have been following you. You have the makings of greatness within you, Harry Potter! You can do anything you want when you harness such power. I can help you there. Harry Potter.

Harry shifted backwards, pain searing across his scar as the creature looked up. He stumbled over a root and fell forward. He slid to the bottom of the pit.

I have wanted to kill you, Harry Potter! But now I have seen what you could accomplish. I want nothing more than to help you, and hopefully, in time you can help me regain my body.

Harry stood up, drawing two knives from his boots.

You see we are one in the same, young Potter. We both had the ability the 'can' to use power to it's fullest potential. There are two kinds of men in this world, those who 'can' and those who 'can't', those who take action and those who pass them off to someone else.

Harry stood up, taking small steps forward.

There are rules in this world, imposed on people like us to keep us down, prevent us from reaching our full potential. They told you killing was wrong. But your Uncle, he imposed rules and broke yours.

Harry froze, shuddering.

You don't want that to happen again do you? No, because you can do something about it, so why don't you?

Harry started his slow steps forward.

You would like that wouldn't you?

A few more steps forward. He slipped his daggers back into his boots.

You would like to kill them wouldn't you?

Harry stopped short, a foot or two away.

Join me, Harry Potter.

Harry took two long strides and was inches away from the creature. Then the swords where in his hand, he was back flipping away, cutting the creature's face. He took a slash at the things arm, cutting a deep gash into it and nicking a deep gouge into the thing's neck. He ran after that, ran like he'd never run before. He ran so fast he hardly noticed he was rising off the ground, his fears having triggered his Phoenix form. Large red and gold wings pulled him from the woods faster and faster.

He turned back, worried that if he didn't do it now, he'd never be able to forgive himself for being too much of a coward. It was then that he remembered the Quffel, which came sailing at him as he thought it. He looked through the trees to where the creature had been, only to see a pair of centaurs looking at his broom. He cursed and flew off. This was one thing he couldn't do.


	15. Chapter 14: Secrets and Stories

Hi eveyone! I just wanted to thank all you who reviewed or added me/my story their favorites/alert group!

**_Big_** shout out to the following:

panther73110

teacher123

Mimaindi

Vellouette

flubberertweak23(great name by the way)

omega13a

clomps

CHAPTER 14: Secrets and Stories

Harry was pacing the floor of the Common Room when Ron awoke and fumbled down the steps to see him.

"Harry! Thank God we were so worried!" He stopped short when he saw the face of his friend.

Ever since Halloween, Ron and Hermione both, looked at their three friends in a different light than most. They were quiet around them, merely there for support and research and sometimes a game of chess or two not because they weren't friends but because Ron and Hermione were slightly uncomfortable with the bound between the three.

Harry, Draco and Dante had grown up together, and while they fought, it was never a serious fight, only practice or picking on one another. That night, when Ron and Hermione had seen them fight, the two had realized that the reason for this was a team like theirs, had to be in complete trust and harmony. Each live was entrusted to the other two partners. That kind of trust could not be duplicated. So it was a shock to see Harry sit down with him, but more of a shock was the teen's face. Harry hadn't even grimaced while killing the troll so the tortured look on his face scared Ron.

"Ron, what I'm about to tell you goes no father than these ears." Ron nodded surprised. With that Harry retold everything, from what had happened in the first seven years of his childhood to what he had seen in the mirror to what had happened that night.

"I wanted to Ron. I was so tempted by the though of having that kind of power it wasn't till I was close enough to smell his garlicky breath that I snapped out of it." He pulled his hands through his hair giving it three inches of extra height. His eyes had large black bags under them and while Ron didn't want to draw attention to it, Harry had giant red and gold wings protruding from his back.

"I can't tell my brother or my cousin. I can't tell anyone but you. This desire to kill, I've been trained to do it but never of my own free will. If I were attacked, then I would retaliate, if it got to the point that I was in danger I would kill. If it was someone worth killing, I'd still wait till they attacked to kill."

Harry had walked over to his trunk, from which he pulled out a silver facemask that covered everything but the eyes.

"Even then I can't bare to be seen by anything that could name me as the killer, even in death."

Ron looked at him agog.

"Thank you Ron, all I needed was to tell you. I needed to tell someone. It's been driving me nuts all this time."

"This man, he was drinking unicorn blood right?"

Harry nodded, settling back against Ron's bed.

"It must have been pretty desperate."

Harry cocked his head to the side, a questioning gaze in his eyes.

"Unicorns blood, leads to immortality but at a half life, incomplete and cursed."

Harry looked out into the grounds, brightening with the warmth of spring.

"Voldemort."

Ron shuddered but said nothing.

"He's around. He's watching me."

"If he comes back, do you think he'd try to kill you again?" Ron asked worriedly.

"He'd have tried to kill me tonight if he wasn't intent on me helping him back to his body."

"How would you be able to help him?" Ron asked, shadows from the window making him look older…much older.

"The Philosopher's stone." Harry whispered, everything coming to light. How he loved talking to Ron, it was like he was a trampoline for all of Harry's questions, only sending answers back to him instead of questions.

"Someone in the school is helping You-Know-Who get to the stone!" Ron nearly cried out.

"Yeah."

Silence stretched out between them, one only the crackle of dying embers filled.

"Ron, would you join Draco, Dante and I at our morning practices?"

Ron was surprised by the sudden offer but was quick to except, having seen the teens only a few times on the fields, sparring either two-on-one or one-on-one-on-one. He had longed since the day Dante had shown him the basics to join them and learn more. He had secretly been practicing his moves everyday and mimicking the trio's moves which he could see from the window in the early morning when he practiced.

"I'd love too! You have no idea how long I've been waiting to join you guys. I want to learn to defend myself like you guys do!"

He was ecstatic and it made Harry smile, that he could bring so much joy with such a selfish request like that on. The truth was, he wanted Ron and even Hermione if he work Dante into agreeing, to be fully prepared to fight.

"I hope to get you up to speed on hand-to-hand before second year is out, and start you on weapons then. I'd really like to start you know but right now we have exams to worry about."

Ron groaned and Harry laughed clapping him on the back before the two climbed back into bed.

The next morning Ron joined Draco and Harry at their lessons with Dante. The werewolf taught Ron some of the more advanced moves after assuring himself that Ron had mastered the one's he'd sown him at Christmas. Harry and Draco sparred avidly, neither backing down despite the sweat that began to soak their t-shirts and shorts. After a quick breakfast all four showered and changed, Draco and Harry complimenting Ron on how fast he'd caught on, and inviting him to more of their early morning practices.

It was only then that Dante slapped himself in the forehead with the heel of his hand. "Hermione! I told her we'd study for the exams today!" All four ran to meet Hermione, praying that the bushy brunette wasn't too displeased with them.

"Well he's chipper."

Dante turned his gaze from his books to Hermione to where she was looking, surprised that something had taken her hawk's gaze off her book.

They were sitting under a tree, books spread out around them, snacks mingled amongst the hard covers, exploding snap card and chess boards sitting on the side of the bank, calling out to the teens who continued to fight the erg.

Hermione was looking across the lake to where Harry was laughing and wrestling with Dante's cousin. Dante smiled as he watched Draco pin Harry to the ground, making the boy laugh hard and loud, sending birds flying.

"I wonder what changed." She whispered.

Dante smiled and was about to return to his book when he spotted Ron. Ron was smiling knowingly with a worried glint to his eyes which hovering just above the book, obviously watching Harry while trying to appear otherwise occupied.

Dante looked to Hermione saw she was back in her book and nudged her pointing to Ron when she glanced up.

"What do you suppose he knows that we don't?"

Hermione shrugged then returned to her book. Dante followed suit though his own eyes wandered up to Ron's more than once though the hours they continued to look up at Ron, to find his eyes never moved unless it was too deepen in worry. "What's wrong Ron?"

The boy snapped his head around to face the werewolf. "What?"

Hermione snorted and began too pack her books away. Dante snorted only to set himself off on a coughing fit. Hermione patted him on the back, looking down at him worriedly.

"I'm okay. Might just be coming down with something. My background gives me a worse immune system than Harry's. Poor kid. He's got such a weak body. Never was the same after those bloody muggles got a hold of him." He smiled and only realized the consequence of his words when his next coughing fit seized him.

"I…didn't…mean…that!" He managed to cough out. Hermione looked at him oddly but Ron was on his feet and was making his way up to the castle. Hermione hauled herself to his feet and tried to help Dante up, but he brushed her off and ran after Ron, cough all the way.

Dante was caught up by his failing energy. He had been avoiding the hospital wing for the three days leading up to the full moon to keep up his studies and pretenses around Hermione and Ron who seemed a bit suspicious. However, his barriers, built up after so many years, seemed to crumble and crash to the ground.

"I'm sorry Harry."

Harry and Draco had headed up a while ago, to shower and change before the change that night. Harry had challenged the blonde to a spar, hoping to work some of the tension that had been building up off. He had kicked the blonde arse, naturally, one of the only upsides to the day. The other one was that Quirrell had been avoiding him. While passing in the courtyard, he'd looked away and toward the ground.

However, that peace was ruined quickly.

Harry was toweling off and about to replace his eye when the door burst open. Harry's magic seized him and he disillusioned him.

"HARRY!"

Harry saw Ron standing in the doorway with Draco behind him clad only in a pair of jeans.

Harry moved out, bushing Draco as he went to tell the boy he was moving and pulled on clothes before revealing himself to the red head.

"Ron! Don't sneak up on me like that."

"I'm sorry Harry I just thought you should know…"

And so the story came forth. Needless to say, Harry was devastated. Dante had blabbed in front of his two friends, both of which weren't supposed to know though one did through his own choice.

Draco looked surprised at his cousin who came bashing through the door.

Harry quickly played it off like he'd never told Ron anything. The bright boy was quick enough to catch on and listened to an abridged version of the story Harry had told him, surprised by the details he'd left out.

Through the story Dante had his eyes down cast, the setting sun casting disconcerting shadows over his young face. Harry watched him, aware of how little the boy knew and how haunted he was by it. Even before he could fully comprehend the dire nature of Harry's rescue that one night, the boy had been hurt that his parent's godchild had been hurt in such a way.

Flashback

Dante rocketed into wakefulness at the first crack of a scream.

He raced down the hall and nearly crashed into Draco as they slid to a stop in front of the new kid's door.

Harry had been with them a week, but most of it had been spent in a sickbed. He hadn't said a word and somehow managed to throw both Dante's parents as well as his uncle and Aunt. The only person Harry hadn't forcefully ejected from the room was Eva. She was still in there, though why wasn't she calling out scared Dante more than what the boy was screaming about.

Grabbing the door by the handle, Dante ripped it off its hinges and threw it into the other wall.

Harry sat straight up right on the floor, mouth open in a horrible scream.

Eva sat next to him on the floor, tears streaming down her pretty face. She was holding Harry, her small six year old body cuddled up to his only slightly larger seven year old one.

"Help him!" She wailed.

Dante lifted Harry into his arms and his surging powers caught hold of the boy's flailing memories.

A small cupboard, a moldy piece of cheese on an even moldier piece of bread, a pile of huge clothes sitting on a threadbare camp bed. All these things flashed through his mind. The final image was a large belt coming down on a small boy, messy black hair caked in blood, his shirt in tatters.

Dante returned to his room to find Harry had stopped screaming, only his silent sobs racking his frame, tears gushing down his face. Dante's own face was wet and while he couldn't understand exactly how Harry had cried out to only the children of the house, or why the boy had shown him those images, he knew that first thing in the morning he would ask about moving into the room next to Harry's and he'd never tell a soul what he saw.

Eva was back in Harry's arms, only this time it was Harry hugging her, with Draco hugging the pair of them. Dante jumped on the hug wagon and the four fell asleep on the floor in each other's arms and after that, were more family than Dante and Remus.

Harry smiled at his brother. "I don't blame you Dante. I know you're just worked up because of your monthly situation."

That broke the tension. The three boys snorted and Hermione bit her lip to stop her laugh. Dante knew that the two new members of their group where to distracted by the odd manner in which Harry had phrased his sentence to really hear what he was saying. It was also Harry's way of getting back at him.

After that, only mild tension filled the room. They returned to their studying in the common room but Harry found his eyes wandering about the room.

First years, like them, were spazing over old notes and essays, clinging to the notes scrawled over them by teachers, mortified by the new experience. Second years were more laidback, flicking the wands around and muttering under their breath. Third years, taking two new classes not given to first or second years, where a bit more vigorous in their studies. They were bent over books or scribbling on parchment in addition to practicing their wand movements and racking their brains for and catalog potions ingredients.

The fourth years were much like the second years, having settled into all of their classes and learned exactly how their professors wanted their work. Fifth years, however, were a wreck. They could be seen spread over large tables, books around, ink stains on their faces and broken quills, crumpled parchment and mugs of coffee supplied by the house elfs barricading them from the world as if a sign had been hung up saying "Unless you want to die, stay back three meters from the table and don't speak."

The seventh years were in much the same position, only most had marks on their faces from where they had fallen asleep on their books and gotten red imprints in return while the sixth years mimicked the fourth years only without mouthing their spells.

Harry let his eyes return to his own book. He already knew all this. It was programmed into the back of his brain and had been for a long time. He put his book down and looked out the window. This time tomorrow he'd be in the testing room and that night he would join Dante and Draco in the forest for a bit of tag.

He smiled to himself and looked at Dante once more to see the boy was frowning at his book and biting his lip. Harry smiled. He was still mad at himself for letting Harry's secret out, and was refusing to let his werewolf part take the blame for the blunder. Harry reached over and gently unhinged Dante's jaw before replacing it, something Remus did all the time to prevent his pup from self-mutilation after he made a mistake. Instead of a painful wound, the gesture had become one of forgiveness that no words could recreate.

Dante smiled sadly up at his brother.

'Drop it. It's not your fault.' Harry signed.

'I need to work on my stamina. If something like not sitting on my arse for three days before the full moon can bring down barriers like these, then I need more practice.'

Dante was an avid signer, having gone through a stage where his human and wolf forms had battled out for dominance within his body and had been unable to speak.

'Stop. I was going to tell them anyway. It's about time we got more members of the pack. In third year we'll start teaching them to become animagius.'

Dante smiled and nodded.

And such was the apology of brother, one that was deeper than most, and too far less time.


	16. Chapter 15: Through the Trapdoor

CHAPTER 15: Through the Trapdoor

The exams started that Monday. Dante's transformation had gone down without a hitch and all three boys were in their seats that morning ready to take their written potion, granted they were slumped forward and barley dragging the information forth through the quill.

It was lucky for the examination group that they were warn out however, because when they asked Harry to remove his eye for examination purposes, he normally would have chewed them up, resurrected them and let his brother and cousin have a go.

However, at the time, Harry's headaches where doubling and his mind was wearing thin, not to mention the pains from his own transformation, stopped him from carrying and prevented his brother and cousin from retaliating on his behalf if only to spar his throbbing head the pain caused by the noise they would have undoubtedly made. Instead he simply popped his eye out in the bathroom and covered his eye up with the old black bandana that turned heads when he reentered the testing room.

They continued to test in the same fashion, Harry unwilling to exert more energy on fighting for his right to see out of both sides of his face, let his brother, cousin and friends fight for his right to have his eye in place. The claim was rejected and Harry resigned himself to leave the eye in a case beside his bed.

Prodigy!

Harry looked around as was surprised to see that Vexation was loping up the stairs to where they were sitting. Ron and Hermione had joined him on the marble stairs before the entranceway after their last exams. Hermione had promised to compare scores with only Dante, who was the only one whiling to show her, and the werewolf had taken Draco back to the dorms to collect his other tests.

In the mean time, Harry was amusing his friends with tails about the three headed dog on the night he and Draco had run into it, as well as a milder version of the night he'd lost the Quffle. The two hung onto his words, being the perfect audience, despite Ron already knowing the more detailed version of the second.

That was when Harry's little immortal cam bounding down the stairs, crying at the top of his lungs from his Prodigy.

Come Prodigy!

Harry jumped of the steps with a flying leap and landed on the ground before the immortal who took no time to launch himself back off up the stairs.

What is it Vexation?

You must come Prodigy, it is you brother and cousin!

What happened to them?

That Balise child! Vex hissed as he raced through corridors and up stairs, Harry trailing him by just enough that he didn't head off in the wrong direction in his hast, Ron and Hermione neck-in-neck behind him.

He cornered Draco in the hallway and started throwing insults at both him and your brother. Finally, your pack had had enough and drew their wands as a warning only to get hit in the back. A full out duel! I left as soon as I saw. I was ridding in your brother's bag.

The skidded around a corner, Harry with his wand drawn and a sword in his other hand. No one dared mess with a pissed of Potter.

However, when they got their, Dante and Draco lay unconscious on the floor, bloody and bruised. Harry lifted Dante in one arm and Draco in the other after assessing it was safe to move them.

Upon passing what seemed to be an empty classroom, Harry was forced to stop by the sound of a whimpering voice of one Quirrell saying. "I have done what you asked! I will go tonight! I will not fail again!" Said teacher rushed out of the room the next minute, adjusting his turban after nearly bumping into Harry.

Harry's scar light up like it had been doused in gasoline and light on fire. He grimaced, trying with all his might not to drop Dante or Draco, fighting the urge to reach up and claw his scar off. Quirrell hurried away and Harry was allowed to hurry on his way to the hospital wing. It was only once in the hospital wing that Harry realized what was going on.

He had gone to the Common Room to collect some things both boys would need when they regained consciousness as well as his eye, which he popped into his head before returning. He had been staring out of the window, waiting for the status of his pack when he spotted Hagrid trundling out to the forest with a bucket of bloody meat. It suddenly clicked into place and he was forced to leave with Ron and Hermione at top speed promising the matron he'd be back soon for an update.

"Don't you think it's odd, that what Hagrid wants more than any thing is a dragon and-"

"And a stranger walks in and just happens to have one?" Hermione piped up. "That has been bothering me."

Harry blinked then started walking again, hardly noticing he'd stopped walking in the first place. "Anyway, who the hell walks around with dragons in their pockets? And now my brother and cousin have been taken out in the fear that I'd come to this conclusion earlier. I'm so stupid!"

He picked up the pace and soon he'd brought them out to Hagrid who had returned from the forest and was pealing beans in front of his hut. "Hagrid! The man who played card with you, who gave you the dragon, you two must have talked."

"Well yeah, he wanted to know what experience with creatures. I told him about Fluffy."

"Did he seem interested in Fluffy?" Ron asked trying not to laugh at the name.

"How many three headed dog do you know Ron? Coarse he was interested." Hagrid laughed, his attention back on those fascinating beans of his. "I told him, the trick with a beast, is knowing 'ow to calm 'im. Take Fluffy for example. Play 'im a bet o music and 'e falls straight to sleep."

Harry sighed and straightened himself out.

"I shouldn't have told you that! I should not have told you that!"

Harry was off with Ron and Hermione on his heels so fast that Hagrid's last words were shouted at them over the court yard as they rushed off to find the one man they could turn to, wither or not Harry want to interact with him again.

Harry pushed his hair away from his eye and let the thing lead him. Ron and Hermione followed him up the stairs and round corners and in and out of tapestries until they came to a stop in front of a griffin statue.

Harry looked the thing over. It had an animation charm on it as well advanced security charms that Harry could only classify but not name.

"Hello, I'm looking for Dumbeldore. Is he in?"

The gargoyle blinked rapidly then shook his head.

"Pardon me young master, no one has spoken to me but the keeper of the office. I was shocked that you'd even know I could."

"I'd love to talk to you even more, sir, but I'm in desperate need to speak to Dumbeldore. It's about the matter of the Philosopher's Stone." Harry urged.

"I'm sorry young master. The Head left for the ministry this morning. Though I am shocked once more that you would know such a thing. I was under the impression that such matters where kept secret from the students."

"Thank you for your help. I'll be sure to come back and talk again my good sir."

With that the three took off at a full out run. Once they were out of earshot, nearly on another planet when Harry was satisfied that no one would hear them.

"Voldemort is going to make a move on the stone tonight." Harry was panting a bit with the excitement of the situation. "I need to train you guys up in a hurry."

Before they could ask what he was planning to do, he'd run off again, leaving them to tail the hem of his robes as they whipped around the corner in front of them.

They skidded to a halt in front of the fat lady and Hermione shouted the password, Ron and Harry having forgotten it in the heat of an adrenaline rush. She swung back to reveal a common room absolutely jam-packed with people changing or waiting for friends to change before heading outside to sprawl in after exam bliss.

Harry shoved through the groups, his bubble forming around him now that his concentration was on getting through and not stopping it from appearing. Ron and Hermione passed easily through the path created in his wake and the three climbed the stairs with minimal attention from the mass below them.

Harry dashed into their rooms, pulled out a key and unlocked his trunk. He stepped inside it started to descend the latter when he saw the other two were gapping at him. "Come on! You go to a bloody school full of witches and wizards and you can't believe it when I pull a Mary Poppins?" Hermione laughed and only shook her head at Ron's confused look.

Inside the trunk, Harry walked over to his large closet. Throwing it open he reveled a cash of weapons ranging from automatic guns to samurai swords to throwing stars to spears.

He reached in farther and pulled out a rack on which where an array of muggle clothes as well as robes of all sorts of colors and dragon hid robes, vests, boots etc.

He quickly outfitted both friends with pairs, altering the items when needed with his wand. Next he ran them through to obvious points of fighting and after some pensive diving both were adequately skilled in the weapons on hand.

Hermione was sporting a pair of knives in her boots, a set of throwing stars on her belt and sword in hand.

Ron was likewise sporting knives but he had chosen a broad sword for in hand and daggers for on belt.

Harry had pulled out all the stops, carrying two swords on his back, two 9 millimeters in his vest, throwing stars, daggers, potions and an array of knives covering his body. He hand his wand in a holster under his sleeve and was debating the use of a pair of battle-axes when the clock chimed midnight.

"Whatever you do… don't cut off a finger. I doubt you two will need the training, however brief it was, that I have supplied you with, but starting next year, my cousin and I will train you on fighting with weapons and Dante will handle hand-to-hand." He was climbing out of the trunk, black dragon leather sweeping around him in a flattering way.

He motioned for them to follow. The three silently crept from the trunk and scurried down the steps and out the Common Room door faster than Hermione and Ron believed possible.

"Your boots are charmed for speed." Harry whispered as the crept through the dark hallways up to the third floor. "Your cloaks are extra strong and charmed to help defend you. You're weapons have protection charms so they won't harm the one wielding them. But if someone where to take them, they could stab you all they liked."

They were nearing the door when Harry stopped. "Now is your chance to turn back. I wouldn't think any less of you guys."

"Hell no!" Ron shouted.

"We're your friends Harry. We're not going anywhere." Hermione said with a dangerous fire in her eyes that only increased her fear factor as she gripped her sword to her chest, her hands so tight, her knuckles were white.

Harry smiled.

"You know, you're the first people to tell me that."

Before they could get sentimental Harry took a breath and pushed through the door.

Silence. Then music.

A harp sat in the corner charmed to play of it's own accord. The great dog lay asleep on the trapdoor, drool coating the floor around it.

"Come on." Harry motioned for them to move the paw. He opened the door and looked down to see darkness engulfing the passage. He looked at his friends…yeah…his friends and smiled before jumping down. As he landed he heard them drop down as well, just as the harp finished its song with an echoing strum of its chords.

"Lucky this plant thing is here really." Ron's voice drifted to his ears through the blackness.

"Lucky?! Look at you!" Hermione's voice came from some remote corner but the note of panic it held could not be lost, no matter how far she was from them. Harry looked down to see the long tendrils of the plant had wound their way around him, binding him to the floor, though they only really took hold when Harry had seen what was happening.

He reacted and soon sounds of struggle from the other sides of the cave telling him Ron and Hermione where trying to cut away the plant, just as he was.

"It's Devils Snare!" He heard Hermione call over the sounds of struggle. Then Ron's scathing retort of, "Oh, I'm so glade we know what it's called, that's a great help Hermione! I'm forever indebted to you Princess!" Harry couldn't help but laugh, though it took some effort as a long vein had shot up and wrapped around his neck.

"Shut up Ron! I'm trying to remember how to kill it! Professor Sprout told us about them in Herbology. They dislike light!"

"So light a fire!" Ron cried, his arms having been captured leaving him with only his legs to fight.

"I can't reach my wand!" She cried.

Harry ripped at a nasty vine and retracted his wand.

"INCENDIO!" He choked out setting the whole plant ablaze.

It let out a terrible screech and retracted, some of its roots still on fire.

"Wicked!" Ron smiled rubbing his wrists.

Hermione sighed and shook her head before picking up her discarded sword and following Harry and Ron into the next room.

"Can you hear something?" Ron whispered straining his oversized ears for the soft rustling and clinking Harry had already picked up on.

"Is it a ghost?" Hermione asked tentatively.

"No. It sounds like wings to me." Ron said making Harry smile. The boy had a talent that was for sure.

The reached the end of the passage and saw a brilliantly light chamber before them, the skies spotted with thousands of jewel-bright birds, glinting as the light flashed off their bronze and silver bodies as the twisted and ducked through their own masses.

Harry led the way toward the other side of the chamber and tested the door. A series of interweaving locking charms prevented even his "Reducto" and "Alohamora" from opening it, though Ron and Hermione both tried anyway.

"So what's the point of the birds?" Ron asked shouldering his broad sword after taking a few good whacks at the door and finding it futile.

"They're not birds!" Hermione gasped. She pointed up into the mass with one of her swords. "Their keys! Keys with wings. Look carefully. We're looking for an old fashion one probably silver like the handle." Ron and Hermione peered into the thousands of keys fluttering above their heads inveigh.

But Harry, magical eye or not, wasn't the youngest seeker in a century for nothing. Pointing up he shouted, "There with the bright blue wings, the feathers are crumpled on one side. Someone must have caught it already."

While Harry watched the thing, Hermione and Ron where looking for a way to get up.

"Look over there! Brooms!" Ron shouted.

"Ron don't touch them!" Hermione suddenly cried.

"Wha?" Ron stopped dead.

"They're probably jinxed, if we touch them, Harry might loose sight of the key. We need another way of getting him up there."

"I've got my own way guys." Harry smiled. Eyes still on the key, Harry shed his dragon his cloak, leaving him in a black t-shirt and a vest. His magical eye locked on the key, Harry took a deep breath and changed into Firefly, well at lest he took on Firefly's wings.

Stretching the long red and gold wings he hauled himself into the air and chased the key down. Snatching it out of the air he looped back down to the ground and gave it to Hermione.

"How?" Her mouth was hanging open and she almost lost her grip on the key but quickly shoved it in the lock to prevent any accidents.

"I was brought up to fight Hermione. I need every advantage I can get and if that means breaking a few rules, I'm willing to take the extra step. If you're willing to learn I can teach you guys over the summer so you can master you form or forms by third year at lest."

Hermione nodded adamantly. She still seemed dazed and the subtle coughs from Ron nudging her towards the door where getting them nowhere so Harry pointed it out to her.

"Oh, right!" She turned the key and the three stepped into the next chamber, as dark as the last one was light. As they stepped into it however, it quickly filled with light.

They where standing on the edge of a gigantic chess board, white pieces facing them, the black pieces closest to them, and the door on the other side. As the faceless pieces towered over them, Ron quickly fell into his element.

"We obviously have to play our way across the board." He turned to a knight that nodded at him, confirming his theory.

"Don't be offended or anything but you two aren't all that fantastic at chess without Dante on your other side coaching you through-"

"We're not offended, Oh Mighty Master of all Things Black and White." Harry teased before taking up his position as a bishop. Hermione laugh and storing her swords away took up the place of a castle, still in mild shock from Harry's previous demonstration of power.

Ron also smiled as he clambered onto the back of a horse, taking his place as knight.

And so the game began, Ron directing the pieces with an air of an all-knowing guru. Their only real shock came when the white queen smashed their knight, and dragged him off the board to be thrown to the floor off the board. Ron was racing around the board, protecting Harry or Hermione and racking up a white pile to match the ever-mounting black one. They were nearing the end of their ranks when Ron paused for a very long time the nodded. Harry scanned the board and saw what was about to happen.

"Oh Shit!"

Hermione looked to his, fear playing with her young face.

"Yes…It's the only way really. Besides, I wouldn't want to ruin my reputation as a fighter by botching the next chamber when I can call it quiets here and live on as a wondrous god of chess." He laughed, but no mirth made it past his throat. "I've got to be taken."

"NO!" Hermione screamed.

"Yes! You need to stop whoever is helping You-Know-Who. I'm too inexperienced to help you much more. The next adventure will be mine." He smiled and without a second glance stepped forward and was taken out by the queen. Hermione screamed and Firefly, took control to make Harry's sad song fill the stadium. A single tear slid down his face from his good eye as his friend was hauled from the board like a piece of meat.

As soon as the queen returned Harry checkmated the king. He surrendered by tipping himself over and Harry ran to Ron's side. Hermione was already there. They looked him over and Harry quickly assured her that he would be okay.

"We have to keep going." Harry turned to the door. Hermione sniffled and whipped a tear away but climbed to her feet and joined Harry. They passed through the door and into the next chamber, which reeked of troll.

Very dead troll.

Eyes watering they ran through the door to the next chamber and spotted a long table lined with bottles of all shapes and sizes. Against either wall there was a fire. A purple on behind them, which they just came through, and a black one ahead of them, which they presumably had to go through.

"This is Snape's handy work. I could smell it a mile away. Even with that troll nearby." Harry said smiling. "And if there's anyone that could take on Snape it's you." Hermione blushed and they approached the table.

"So what do we have to do?" Harry asked as Hermione seized a scroll from next to the bottles.

She put a finger to her mouth to silence him as her eyes darted back and forth across the paper. By the end she was smiling brightly, with a look Harry could only describe as pure thrill.

"Logic! Oh I could kiss the greasy bat!" Harry looked disgusted and she laughed. "Okay so that's going a bit far. But it's brilliant! A lot of the greatest witches and wizards don't have an ounce of logic, they'd be stuck here forever!" He let out a breathy sigh and looked at the paper longingly.

"Well this one can't either." Harry said. "So what do we have to do?"

"Oh, right!" Hermione picked up two bottles. One was small with only enough liquid inside for one person to have hardly a swallow. The other was round with considerably more. "You'll drink this one Harry." She said handing him the small bottle. "It will take you through to the next chamber."

"But what about you?"

"I'll drink this one and go back, get Ron and take him for help. Face it Harry, I haven't been trained to fight, trained with this sword or these daggers, and while I look forward to learning, this isn't my journey. You are a great wizard. You will do great things Harry Potter. Take care." With that she downed the potion and scampered through the fire.

Harry sighed and shook his head. What his brother saw in that girl…he could clearly see now, more than ever. Downing his own freezing potion he barreled through the black fire and saw…

AN: I want to take a second and thank my reviewers. I know I can be a bit odd and hasty in my writing, but now that I have made sure I will keep up a regular posting, I will make sure to further explain my stories. Look for Year 2 coming soon after the completion of Year 1!

LastCornerStone


	17. Chapter 16: Two Faced

CHAPTER 16: Two Faces

Quirrell.

"I should have known."

The man turned around slowly.

"All those times I've seen you, and in the forest! I should have guessed. When you tried to kill me at the Quidditch game. I should have known from the start." Harry shook his head and stepped almost indifferently down the stairs to where the turbaned man was standing before the mirror.

"So having any luck getting the stone for your master?" He asked coolly.

Quirrell was in obvious shock. Harry took advantage of the man's shock to tramps the rest of the stairs down to where the man stood, eyes wide in front of a familiar mirror.

Harry stepped up behind him. "That must be some mirror." Harry said pointing to the gold-laced mirror. "For you to be staring at it so long that is. Must be making you look a hell of a lot better than you really do for you to stand there so long and still have a full stomach."

Quirrell growled. "Just stand still and keep quiet. I need to figure out how this thing works. It's the key to finding the stone. Only that old goat Dumbeldore would think up someway to hid a stone in a mirror." He circled the mirror and glared at Harry who was leaning back nonchalantly, arms crossed over his chest, one leg crossed toe pointing down over his other, dragon hid cloak resting on his shoulders gently, fitting his form as if it were water woven into fabric.

"What does this confounded mirror do? Should I break it? I see myself holding the stone, but how do I get the blasted thing?! Help me Master!"

Harry dropped arms as a ripple of hot pain scorched across his forehead.

"Use the boy……Use the boy!" the eerie voice seemed to rise out of the stone and bounced off the walls around them.

"Come here Potter, if you think you're so smart, why don't you go ahead and get the stone?"

Harry took a few uneasy steps forward and looked into the mirror.

What I want most of all right now is to find the stone before Quirrell does.

Harry repeated the phrase over and over within his mind, trying to make him self believe it. He turned his face to the mirror and looked and just as it had on Christmas night, the mirror showed him the wreckage of the Dursleys household, older versions of all his friends standing in the rubble, his parents floating around behind them. But unlike the last time, he could see into the mirror itself.

Nestled between the clogs and wheels, Harry could see a jagged blood red stone, glimmering with some unknown light. He could see thick chains of green laced with tight ropes of blue holding the stone in place until released by the proper authority.

"What do you see boy?"

Harry winced and turned on the teacher.

"No of your business you pest!"

"Ah, but he is not the parasite. I am."

Harry blanched. The voice was back and reeking havoc on his senses, as well as on his head. His scar had light up again.

"Let me speak to him…face-to-face." Harry shuddered.

"Master you are not strong enough." Quirrell said his tone changing to one of compassion so quickly you would have though his previous malice was fake.

"I have strength enough for this."

Harry was slowly edging away, drawing his swords.

Quirrell turned his back to Harry and resolutely raised his hands to his turban and began to unwind it. Harry tightened his grip on his blades and fixed his stance, remembering at the last minute to lift his arms up higher and spread his legs wider. He tried not to look as the purple cloth fell from his head.

"Harry Potter…" Harry nearly retched. He'd never felt so sick in his life. The thing that protruded from his head was not human, not animal, not even vegetable. No it could only be described as…

"Lord Voldemort." Harry hissed, his blades seemed to glow with the heat that rolled off the small boy.

"See what I've become?" The faces said, voice cracking and flaking much as the face did. "A shadow of my previous self, unable to live without the aid of another." However creepy the voice, that note of distain was too propionate to be lost in the strained voice. "Unicorn's blood can only take you so far. We've met once before while faithful Quirrell was drinking the blood for me. You were interested then…"

Harry bit off a hiss.

"A mere slip of logic."

"No, Harry Potter. There was desire there, just as there was in front of the mirror."

Harry shifted his weight till it was pushed onto his back leg.

"You want to kill, I don't know who but the passion to kill burns within you and no matter how much you fight it, turning your urges on me, you will never be satisfied until you complete your desirer." Voldemort's hissing voice grew in power till it was rebounding across stonewalls.

Harry smirked.

"You're right. I do want to kill. And it's not only you that I want to kill. But I'm not strong enough as of yet." He lowered his fighting stances and casually walked up to the Professor/Dark Lord.

"There is no good and evil, only power and those to weak to use it." Harry said pressing a hand to the mirror. He could see the stone sitting in it's net of enchantments and spell work.

"I've never been one for dramatic theme music, but I feel this needs a little something." Harry laughed and suddenly the sounds of Dark Vader theme music filled the hall and Harry laughed manically.

"Master!" Quirrell, forgotten in the shadows of his Master's arrival on the scene, protested.

Voldemort however laughed.

"You have the power boy, the will and the know how to get the stone."

"And in turn you will teach me to kill him?"

"If that is what you so desire."

"Well, in that case."

Harry began pulling strings and cutting, changing, redirecting the wires around the stone until he had a clear path to the blood red stone.

"The power of everlasting life, eh?" Harry said, inches away from picking up the stone. "Why would anyone one want that?"

Suddenly, before Voldemort could see what he was going to do, Harry had summoned a dagger and cut the self-destruct wire that wound deep into the stone it's self.

"FOOL! Kill him! Kill him!"

Harry jumped away, casting a shielding charm. He returned to his fighting stance, swords in hand as Quirrell flew into the air and descended upon him. He stung a warning shot at Quirrell's arm, nicking deeply into the flesh and twisting, immobilizing it. He howled in pain but returned for more. Harry fended him off, lobbing off one of his arms in the end.

Quirrell kicked his swords aside and threw him to the ground.

"REDUCTO!" Harry cried just as Quirrell cast a wordless shield.

"Face it Harry Potter. You will never be a killer because you are scared of turning into me on your quest to kill me. BUT I CAN NEVER DIE!" Voldemort laughed loud and hard as Quirrell advanced on the teen.

The pain in Harry's scar was blinding now, his bad eye the only way he could see what Quirrell was doing. He managed to catch the creature's arm as he went to send a lethal blow to Harry's head with a block of marble that was lying nearby only seconds before.

Not expecting such defense to be so effective, Harry was surprised when Quirrell leapt off his attack crying out in animal lick agony. Harry saw that where he had touched Quirrell's arms, large blustering burns bubbled like grease, eating away at his skin.

"What is this magic!":

"Fool! Kill the boy!"

Harry leapt up and engulfed the man in a lethal bear hug. In seconds the man was nothing more than a pile of ashy robes. Collapsing back onto the ground Harry stared up at the giant columns. He was panting, the pain in his scar building and building as if preparing for some grand finale. He could feel his heart accelerating as the pain reached a final crescendo and ended with stars in his eyes, pain in his head and an explosions of fireworks and a blast of heat before his face.

The soft melody of darkness wrapped around him like a blanket and cradled him into the unconsciousness.


	18. Chapter 17: Can't End without Quidditch

**AN: **I just want to take another minute and thank all my reviewers and respond to a few.

teacher123: Thanks for reading, despite my somewhat odd writing style, I've always favored my... differences. (Just another way of saying I'm weird)

Mimamindi: For starters, thanks for reviewing every chapter. It's a confidence booster.

HappeeGoLuckee: Glade to see you are so enthusiastic. I promise to keep writing if you keep reviewing.

CHAPTER 17: Can't End without Quidditch

"Where was I that the knight bus could hit me?"

Harry sat up groggily, his hands migrating to his head on instinct when the felling of wet sand filled the back of his brain.

"Good morning Mr. Potter."

Harry winced. He knew that scathing tone as well as he knew his name.

"Hi Draco…hehe…guess I'm in trouble eh?"

Across from him, sitting on the medical bed of one Dante Lupin-Black, sat a very pissed of blonde. Dante, likewise, had his hands crossed over his chest and a frown on his face, but the bandages on his arms and face made him less menacing then the black and blue Draco beside him. It also had something to do with the lighting. Draco was much scary when in shadow then he was in light.

"Must be because he uses two tons of shampoo." Harry said suddenly elaborating to himself of the previously discovered point. "Shit, what happened to my inner monologue?"

Dante couldn't help but laugh, earning a scowl from Draco and the title of 'Backstabber' for the remaining school year.

WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?

Harry looked down to see Vexation sitting on his lap, hair standing on end as he spat insults at his master.

WHAT WAS GOING THROUGH YOUR HEAD WHEN YOU LEFT ME BEHIND?

Sorry Vex. I really wasn't thinking. I have this hero mode where nothing comes in and nothing gets out.

Well you're going to regret it during training this summer. I promise you that!

Harry smiled and began to stroke the fur ball behind the ears as a means of apologizing. Vexation cooled off and Harry sighed. One less ticking time boom averted.

After an hour of lecture on how he couldn't leave them out of another adventure, Harry got the details out of Draco and Dante with the help of Ron and Hermione who heard he was awake from Shamus who had stopped by to deliver Madam Pomfery's potions ingredients as part of a detention for Snape.

After Hermione had gone back through the fire, she had roused Ron and insisted on taking him to the hospital wing. Inside they found Dante and Draco arguing with the medi-witch over whether or not they could leave the next morning. When they told them, Dante and Draco had rushed down the chamber with Dumbeldore, who had flown in the medical wing window.

The three had found Harry sprawled over stairs, swords fallen from his hands, burns on the front of his body, with a pile of ashes at his feet and the remains of the Mirror of Erised in a smoldering heap not far away. The stone had been completely destroyed and the creature actually thanked Harry for doing it, after deciding enough was enough. It had been a little over a week since Harry had passed out, therefore he had missed the full moon, which landed Dante back in the hospital wing, at which time he woke.

Harry received many well wishers and visitors over the next two days including: Fred and George, the majority of the females in Hogwarts from first year to third, Hagrid, Professor Flitwick, McGonagell, Sprout and last but not lest Wood, who brought him the most disconcerting news ever.

"THE GAME IS TOMORROW?!?!?!"

Vexation glared at him and slunk away to continue his nap in peace and quiet that was the essence of the boy's dorm room. Little did he know a ragging pillow fight was venting the first year boy's excitement over the up coming match.

Wood nodded fervently. "You have to play Harry! We don't have a reverse Seeker! We're trailing the other house because Fred and George pranked every teacher they could in end of the year spirits."

"Of coarse I'm going to play!"

"Oh no he's not!" Madam Pomfery and Dante shouted at the same time. They looked at each other funny then nodded in agreement and turned stern looks on the small boy.

"You're just no on the mend!" Dante pointed out.

"You shouldn't even be awake if truth be told." Madam Pomfery backed him up.

"You can't stop me." Harry taunted. Just watch me Mr. Potter. Mr. Black, your assistance please."

Dante followed the medi-witch into her office and grabbed the restraints off the wall. "Think you'll mind sharing these with your brother?" She laughed.

"Not at all." Dante smiled evilly, ready to get back at the pest for all the times he'd ever pranked him and all the moons he'd missed.

When they got back Harry was still in his bed to their surprise and he was chained down without hesitation or saying word, though he did shot his brother a hateful look.

Draco shook his head and left with Wood who looked a little reluctant to leave so quickly but in the end he just followed Draco out. Once the two hit the hall, Wood grabbed Draco's hand and ran for it. Draco soon caught up to wood's stride and was able to run on his own instead of being pulled along for the ride.

They reached the pitch just as the rest of the team was emerging, dressed and ready for action. "Where's Harry?" Fred piped up looking Draco up and down as if assessing him.

"Right in front of you." Wood smiled.

"Wood, I know it's been stressful, coming so close to winning the cup and then having your star player wind up in the hospital wing after killing out DADA teacher." Fred joked.

"But for starters, Harry had black hair not blonde." George finished.

Draco smirked and slowly, screwing up his face a bit changed from Draco Black to Harry Potter.

"I'm a metemorphmagus." Harry smiled as his teammates goggled at him. "And so is my brother. He covered for me so I could get down here." The team blinked a few times then cheered and shoved Harry into the changing tents.

**Meanwhile**

"Come on Harry. Isn't the silent treatment just a bit juvenal for you?" Dante tried to get a rise out of his brother, but only managed to get a sigh and a cold shoulder. Harry seemed really irked about this. Honestly, it was for his benefit. "Come on Harry. You can still watch from here. I have some binoculars here and the pitch is just outside the window." Dante wheedled. He really didn't want Harry mad at him. Standing up he unchained Harry, explaining that the look just didn't suit him.

Harry stood up reluctantly, taking the binoculars from Dante with a bit of force to show him it didn't really change anything.

The game was underway beneath them and Harry's mood seemed to lighten as he moved the binoculars back and forth following the chasers of the replacement Seeker they had scrounged up amongst the Gryffindors.

"Can I have a look?"

Harry reluctantly handed them over and moved so that Dante could get a good view of the game.

"I wonder who they got to replace you?" Dante thought aloud.

He looked closer at the players and quickly found the Seeker.

"Harry that looks just like….." Turning around Dante saw himself looked into Draco's steely gray eyes.

"Hehe" Draco laughed waving at the werewolf.

"DRACONIOUS BLACK!"

**Down on the field**

"DRACONIOUS BLACK!"

Harry smiled up at the hospital wing window and made a mental not that he owned Draco big time.

Returning his attention to the pitch he couldn't help but smile. The excitement of having a cup worthy team together had fired up everyone. The chasers had refused to let the Ravenclaw's chasers hold onto the Quaffle for more than seven seconds a time. Fred and George where on a roll and had knocked the Keeper off his broom close to the beginning of the game and were easily dominating the bludgers. Harry, noticing that the Ravenclaw Seeker seemed to think it a better idea to mimic him, and was mirroring his moves on the opposite side of the pitch.

They were a head forty points to Ravenclaw's zero. Angelina had just scored their fiftieth when Harry spotted the snitch. It was hovering beside Wood's ankle, on the opposite side of the pitch. Whit Chang mirroring him the way she was, Harry was forced to take a round about route to the snitch but in the end picked it right out of the air unnoticed by all until he cried "I'VE GOT THE SNITCH!"

Wood was ecstatic, he probably would have kissed Harry if the Chasers hadn't gotten their first. McGonagell could be seen in the stands doing a gloating happy dance in front of Severus Snape, who looked like he was going to kill. It was in that moment Harry decided it was time for a prank.

The Leaving Feast was an ecstatic ordeal. Gryffindor had won the Quidditch cup for the first time since Charlie Weasley had left to tame Dragons. When added into account however, that only brought Gryffindor up to second place on the point scale. Despite this, the hall was filled with cheerful chatter and the buzz of a high that had nothing to do with the odd fog that was filling the Great Hall.

True the hall was decked out in silver and green with serpents staring down at the students, but it was Gryffindor pride that filled the place, so much so that the Slytherins were unable to enjoy their triumph over the goodie-goodie muggle lovers and blood traitors.

Dumbeldore looked down the table to where the staff where sitting left and right, seeming to ask where Snape was, which was a question on many student's lips before turning to the school and drawing their ADD attention to him.

"Another year come and gone." The school cheered. "And a big congratulations to Gryffindor on winning the Quidditch cup. My chocolate frogs card collection thanks you."

This earned a laugh, especially when Dumbeldore bowed, taking off his hat to reveal a smaller replica beneath it.

"But now as I understand, the House Cup needs awarding."

The Slytherins perked up.

"In fourth place, with 322 points Hufflepuff. In third place, Ravenclaw with 335. In second place, Gryffindor with 354 and in first place Slytherin with 472."

Slytherin cheers filled the room and echoed off the walls doubling the sound.

"Yes, yes, well done Slytherin. Well done! However," The smiles on the Slytherin member's faces slipped.

"Resent events must be taken into account. To begin with, 15 points will be taken from each member of the Slytherin house who attacked two unarmed Gryffindors the day after testing so viciously that they were placed in the hospital wing for a week, leaving Slytherin with 412."

Slytherin was in an uproar. 60 points for four students?

The other houses where cheering relishing Slytherins' demise.

"Next, to Mr. Harry Potter."

The hall went dead quiet. All the heads in the place turned to look at Harry where the boy had stopped playing with Vexation and was actually listening now.

"For bravery, courage and cunning this school hasn't seen for many years, as well as the will to do good for others and protect the discarded, I award, 50 points." Gryffindor and ever other house other than Slytherin for that matter, where in an uproar.

"To Miss. Hermione Granger, for the coolheaded use of logic and friendship in the face of danger, I award 30 points." The cheers for their favorite bookworm almost matched that of their hero's acknowledgments.

"To Mr. Ronald Weasley. For the best game of chess and strategy this school has seen in many years, 20 points." The screaming was almost hysterical now.

"And so I believe a change in décor is in order." He clapped his hands and the Slytherin banners where replaced with the blinding red and gold as the Gryffindor Lions roared over head.

"Gryffindor wins the house cup!"

McGonagell was crying, Wood was raising Harry into the air with Fred and George lifting Ron and Hermione as the Gryffindor supporters all but bowed to them. It was the perfect time for a prank. Motioning almost unnoticeably with his hand, Harry moved Snape like a puppet into the hall giving everyone the biggest shock of all time.

Standing in the entrance hall was Severus Snape in a lion suit, carrying a tray of marshmallow lions, shouting "Gryffindor Rocks my socks!" every few minutes. The only thing that could have made the moment better was what happened next. In the shocked silence that filled the hall there was the sudden snap of a picture being taken, followed by thousands more.

The pictures rained down all over the hall. Moving pictures of Snape shouting his new catch phrase in his suit and carrying his tray of goodies. Under the picture was 'Go Gryffindor!' In gold and red flashing writing signed 'Hunter'.

Draco and Dante looked at Harry knowingly and hurriedly got their own and copies for friends and family. Harry took up a couple to planning to tuck them away in his scrapbook. His parents would have been proud and his uncle would have been humiliated. It was a win-win situation and Harry was loving it.

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The train was puffing steadily in the station as the students clambered back on waving goodbye to the teachers who came to see them off. Snape hadn't shown his face sense the leaving feast insisted and Draco, who thought it funny, demeaned Harry apologies to Snape the next year by pranking McGonagell. Harry, of coarse, agreed and promised to consult the Slytherin head in the best method with which to carry out the prank.

Harry was talking to Hagrid, often pausing to say good-bye to someone he didn't know before picking up the conversation.

"'er 'arry. I wanted yer to 'ave this. Sent off ter some o' your mum and dad's old friends for em. Didn't 'ave any myself. I 'ope yer like it."

With that he pushed a leather bound book into the boy's hands. Harry carefully thumbed through the pages, glancing over the book of pictures of his mother and father and Bella and Regulus and Sirius and Remus.

"Thank you Hagrid."

"I know yeah didn't 'ave any so I got 'em for an apology present."

Harry hugged him tightly and said thank you over and over again.

He climbed onto the train reluctantly and waved bye to Hagrid still saying thanks until he was out of sight.

Harry smiled and walked to the compartment, over flowing with people where his brothers had saved him the center seat next to Ron and Hermione for prime storytelling vantage point. Laughing Harry clutched his book to his chest and plunged into the center of the mob.

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When they pulled into the station, Harry, Ron and Hermione had told their story at lest 12 times with slightly varying details.

They unloaded and the three boys walked Hermione and Ron out of the station to met each of their families before they left.

"Hello Mrs. Wealsey!" Harry smiled as Ron walked over to her.

"Oh my! Harry Potter. Friends with… Oh my!" Ron smiled at his mother's reaction before addressing his little sister. Harry smiled and waved Dante off as he tried to get them to come with him to meet the Grangers. In the end he was dragged off.

"Don't bother writing. The wards on our house will stop your letters. But well send some letting you know what's up. Then you can give Harry his birthday present when we met up in Diagon Alley." Draco laughed as Harry glared at him. Mrs. Weasley seemed to be honestly considering the idea when Dante returned blushing bright red, refusing to talk about what had just happened.

The three left via back door, pulled out their motorcycles, unshrunk them and morphed into 18 year-olds and peeled out of the station's parking lot, honking and waving at the Weasleys and the Grangers who were leaving at the same time confusing everyone except Ron, the Twins and Hermione who waved back laughing.

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They pulled into the driveway with much whooping and laughing and revving of engines. They dismounted and unpacked, releasing their familiars into the open air before waltzing into the house.

"We're home!" They chorused in the same three octaves they had sung the school song in, using jazz hands to get a laugh from the family.

"I'M PREGNANT!"

"WTF?"

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**AN:** Thank you everyone! And because I love you all so much, I want you to send in reviews deciding how I continue. Should I make each year a different entry or do them all under this one and just update the title when I add a new year? Your vote does matter, unlike in elections.

Next order of business: I have and IOP in English on Monday as well as an Epiphany Essay on top of regular IBHA notes/quiz, so I'm going on a temporary hiatus hopefully only until Wednesday. By then I hope to have enough votes to determine my next coarse of action.

RECOMMEND ME TO YOUR FRIENDS! PLEASE!


	19. NOTE TO READERS

Attention:

Thank you to all my wonderful readers!

I would like to apologize for the rather extensive delay in my writing of the second instillation of Family Types.

For a while my main computer was out of commission, forcing me to write on my dad's laptop from work. My first couple chapters for Family Types Year 2 are on it and for some reason it will not accept the password.

As soon as I can access the chapters I will be posting them as a separate story title previously stated.

Thank you and a big "my bad" for the wait.

Yours truly,

LastCornerStone


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